FOUR men have been arrested following an assault after the Southampton against Portsmouth FA Cup tie on Saturday, in which one man was left with serious head injuries.

At about 6am this morning, officers from Bitterne CID and the Netley based Force Support Unit raided properties in the Thornhill and Hedge End areas and arrested the four men, all in their early 20s, all at separate addresses.

The men are now in custody at police stations across Southampton, where they will be questioned later today.

The arrests follow an incident which took place at about 3pm on Saturday, when two men were assaulted by a group of men.

The victims - both in their 30s - were walking along Radcliffe Road in Northam, close to the junction with Summers Road, near to the Mount Pleasant level crossing at the back of the old Meridian television studios, when the assault took place.

They were taken by ambulance to Southamp-ton General Hospital. One was discharged after treatment for minor injuries, but the other man sustained serious head injuries and is currently being treated in the neurological unit, where his condition is today described as stable.

Det Insp Nigel Oliver, of Bitterne CID, said: "We know that there were a lot of Portsmouth and Southampton fans leaving the ground following the match who were in the area at the time and who may well have witnessed this incident.

"We would urgently like to hear from anyone who saw anyone fighting in the vicinity of the Meridian studios site and can help us establish exactly what happened.

"The early arrests show that violence at or around football grounds will be robustly investigated by Hampshire police and swift action taken against suspects."

Anyone with information about the assault is asked to contact the Operation Palfrey incident room at Bitterne CID on 0845 045 4545 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.