A MAN is fighting for his life after being gunned down and run over outside a High Wycombe pub.

Eyewitnesses said they saw a man in his mid 20s lying in a pool of blood, opposite the Happy Wanderer in Arnison Avenue, and watched in "horror" as a car ran over his motionless body.

Gunshots were heard at around 11.20pm on Saturday, but most people assumed it was fireworks.

The landlord said the victim was not one of his regulars but had been drinking in the pub with three other people until closing time.

He said: "There were only four other people at the bar besides this group having a quiet drink. Everyone had left and I was cashing up with my back to the window when I heard two gunshots. I thought it was fireworks.

"When I looked out of the window I saw the man lying in the road and then this car ran over him and drove off at speed."

The victim is in a critical condition on a life-support machine in the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford.

Saturday's shooting follows the death of 74-year-old Alan Irwing who was attacked less than 100 yards from his home on May 19, and just down the road from where the weekend shooting took place.

Nearby residents who had been living in fear after the death of the pensioner, said they were now too afraid to let their children out.

Other neighbours called for dedicated police officers to patrol their street after an unsuccessful campaign to get CCTV cameras installed on the road.

Another couple who have lived in the same house for 45 years said Bowerdean Road had "become as bad as living in a London ghetto".

Detectives are now appealing for witnesses, especially those who might have seen a blue Ford Mondeo registration K48 PRV being driven around High Wycombe on Saturday or early Sunday morning.

Detective Chief Inspector Karen Trego, leading the investigation said: "Even if you did not think what you saw was significant at the time you could have information that is vital."

A 32-year-old man and a 20-year-old man were arrested on Sunday on suspicion of attempted murder. The older man is still in custody helping with police inquiries. The younger man was released without charge.