Police are investigating an assault on a man who was found seriously injured in a street in Co Down.
The man was found this morning at the Esplanade in Holywood.
He had suffered serious injuries and was transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast where he was in a stable condition.
As officers sealed off the area during their investigation, an Assembly member for the area claimed Holywood was being overrun by paramilitaries and criminals.
UK Unionist leader Mr Bob McCartney also hit out at policing levels, saying there were not enough officers to deal with those rampaging through the area. "What seems to have happened to this man doesn't surprise me at all. It's symptomatic of the lawlessness in the town," th North Down MLA said.
"Holywood is a real wee yuppy town, full of cafes and estate agents, but it's a different town entirely after eight o'clock at night.
"At that stage the drunks and paramilitaries take over, and it's at that stage you don't see any policemen on the streets. There are groups of UDA thugs in and about Holywood who are really bad boys."