A BIZARRE incident over a stolen winning betting slip has left one man fighting for his life and another quizzed by police for trying to kidnap him.

Detectives are piecing together the series of events which led to a man falling out of a moving car in Southampton. They say he could have been trying to escape after a fight broke out just minutes earlier.

Police say the drama began when a gambler won £80 on gaming machines at Ladbrokes in Victoria Road, Woolston, at 9.30pm on Thursday. He left the slip in the machine while he went to the toilet but when he got back it had been taken. The man was told by people in the shop that two men had run off with the slip.

The Southampton man, aged 40, then got into a car in pursuit of the suspected thieves, police say.

Officers were called to the Itchen Bridge at 9.50pm after reports a fight had taken place. Minutes later a member of the public called police to say an injured man was lying in the middle of Portsmouth Road having fallen from a silver Volkswagen Passat.

The 29-year-old Southampton man was rushed to Southampton General Hospital with a life-threatening head injury where he is today in a serious but stable condition.

Police think the man found lying in the road could be one of the suspects alleged to have stolen the winnings earlier.

The Daily Echo understands it was the man who had the winning bet who has been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and false imprisonment. He has been released on bail until January 13.

Police are appealing for witnesses.