A MAN was fighting for his life in hospital today after being involved in a hit-and-run accident with a stolen car.

John Crompton, aged 47, of Walshaw Road, Bury, suffered serious head, neck and chest injuries in the accident last night in Leigh Lane, Elton.

The accident happened as he was making his way home from Elton Working Men's Club at 10pm. A massive police search was mounted in the area for the driver who abandoned a blue Austin Maestro seconds after the collision.

The Maestro was stolen the previous night from outside a house in Allen Street, Walshaw. The thieves even went to the trouble of fixing the car -- which did not have a battery -- before taking the battered vehicle.