THE friends of a man seriously injured in a quad bike accident in Australia raised £4,000 on a charity pub crawl to cover the costs for his family to spend time at his bedside.

Mark Middlehurst, who is originally from Billinge, remains in serious condition after suffering head injuries following the incident in Perth.

His parents Malcolm and Julie and brother David immediately flew out to be with him but have no idea how long they will be out there.

Mark's friends immediately stepped in to help ensure the family have no money worries during their extended stay.

Steve Coyne ,who has been a friend of Mark for almost 20 years, told the Star: "We raised more than £4,000 on the pub crawl in Billinge and Orrell. It was a really good day and at any one time there were at least 70 people there. Across the day I would say there were a few hundred from 1pm to 9pm and a bit later if I'm honest.

"Everyone was in good spirits and we managed to sell specially designed t-shirts.

"And we are having a 'Shindig for Mig' in a couple of weeks at Orrell St James. We won't have any trouble selling tickets. If anything they will be in short demand."

Steve, 30, said Mark is showing signs of improvement but his recovery is still at very early stages: "There has been some good news. He has opened his eyes and there has been a bit of movement which is a drastic change from a couple of weeks ago when he wasn't good at all.

"So it's going to be very slow progress. His body seems to be ok but there is still swelling on the brain. Because the community is tight knit the family are keeping us in the loop. So we are doing what we can to give them peace of mind."

Steve said along with the event at Orrell St James there is also a Sportsmans Dinner event at Chapel End Labour Club in Billinge. He said: "If anyone wants to donate any raffle prizes for any future events they can email me at stecoyne@outlook.com."