A father has told of his son's battle for life after he was found with serious head injuries slumped outside a pub.

Timothy John was discovered by a friend outside the White Hart in Horsebridge, near Hailsham, after watching England play Germany in a World Cup qualifying match.

He was later found unconscious at his parents' home and taken into intensive care.

Police are now trying to piece together what happened to Timothy, 42, and whether he suffered the injuries in a fall or was attacked.

His father, Karl, of Vicarage Lane, Hailsham, said his son had left his parents' home at about 5.30pm on Saturday, September 1, to watch the game.

It is believed he met at least two friends in the pub while his two daughters, aged seven and nine, stayed with their grandparents.

At about 10.15pm, Timothy's friends left the pub to find he had collapsed outside. His father believes they thought he may have had too much to drink and drove him home to his Hailsham flat.

In the morning, a friend collected Timothy and drove him back to his parents' house.

Mr John said: "Tim was in a bedroom but we did not know he was here because he came round pretty early and we were in bed. My wife found him in bed and cooked a meal for him in the evening."

She went up to tell him he could come and eat when he wanted to. She thought he had had too much too drink and was still sleeping.

"In the night we realised something was wrong. There was crashing and I woke up. He had locked himself in the bathroom.

"It took 20 minutes to get in, we shouted at him to lift the lock and he just managed to do that. We got him back in bed and called an ambulance."

Timothy was taken to Eastbourne District General Hospital on Monday, September 3, with a fractured skull and swelling to his brain.

The next day, he was moved to Southampton Hospital's neurological unit, where his parents and children visited him.

Mr John said: "We went twice and he was in a very bad way. He wasn't breathing for himself and was on a ventilator. He began to get better a millimetre at a time and by the following Sunday they had removed the ventilator.

"They were testing him and asked him to move his legs. There was some movement and he was doing various things. I told him the girls were holding his hand and said he should give them a wink and he did."

On Monday, Timothy was taken back to Eastbourne Hospital, where he is still in intensive care.

A police spokesman said: "An investigation is under way and anyone with information should contact us."

Footage from CCTV cameras in the area is still being analysed and anybody who saw anything is asked to contact Detective Constable Mark Ling at Eastbourne CID on 0845 6070999.