The 39-year-old man was taken to John Hunter Hospital where he was listed as being in a critical condition in intensive care when the Mercury went to press.

A woman said yesterday she was woken by a group of up to 12 men fighting outside her home on Ken Tubman Drive at about 3am on Saturday.

When she looked out of her bedroom window she saw the 39-year-old man lying on the pavement in the BiLo loading dock with a man standing over him.

“The man standing over him said ‘stay with me mate’ as he called for an ambulance on his mobile phone,” the eye witness said.

While the 39-year-old lay in a pool of blood, a group of men circled two others who were fighting near the corner of Bulwer Street and Ken Tubman Drive.

“The fight slowly moved into the middle of the road,” the eye witness said.

“It probably went for about 20 minutes.

“People walking past just ignored it because it was obvious it was something to stay away from.

“You could hear the punches when they connected, it was sickening.”

The eye witness said the men involved in the fight scattered when police arrived.

“Two men involved in the fight escaped on foot down a laneway,” she said.

“A few others ran from police up towards Elgin Street.”

The eye witness said four or five of the men left the scene in a taxi after talking to police and no one was arrested.

Police believe there were a number of people who may have witnessed the altercation after leaving licensed premises in the area.

Police set up road blocks in Ken Tubman Drive for three hours on Saturday morning while forensic investigators photographed the blood-stained footpath and dusted for fingerprints on nearby cars.

They are calling for anyone with information about the incident to contact Central Hunter Detectives on 4934 0200 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.