THREE men who were refused entry into a Newcastle nightclub may hold the key to an attack that left a young clubber fighting for his life.

The 22-year-old victim's life is still hanging in the balance after he was hit on the head by a house brick thrown from the Tyne Bridge at the weekend.

The young man, from Manchester, had been queueing with two friends outside the Tuxedo Princess leisure ship, moored at Gateshead, when clubbers were showered with objects hurled 200ft from a tower on the bridge.

The brick fractured his skull and he is in a critical condition in the intensive care unit of Newcastle General Hospital.

Other revellers ran for cover behind a fast-food van parked near the ship's entrance.

Minutes before the attack, three men had been turned away from the club after they attempted to jump the queue.

Detective Inspector Brian Gaff said: "This was a perfectly innocent man from a normal family background who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"He was in Newcastle and was planning to go to the wedding of a former university friend on Sunday.

"It was a reckless, cowardly and despicable attack."

Following the incident, which occurred at 11.35pm on Friday, a team of 20 police officers have been hunting those responsible and are still appealing for witnesses to come forward.

Police were keen to stress that the three men refused entry to the club might be innocent.

All are in their late 20s to early 30s with very short hair. One wore a long-sleeved green shirt, another worse a long-sleeved yellow shirt, and the third was wearing a blue one.

Anyone with information should contact Newcastle CID on 0191-454 7555