A YOUNG man is in hospital with a serious head injury after being knocked down on the A5 at Glyndyfrdwy.

Named locally as Henry Coates, 22, from Llangollen, he is believed to have been walking along the road with a friend, who was also injured, when the incident
happened at about 2.50am on Sunday.

Mr Coates was taken first by ambulance to Wrexham Maelor Hospital and later transferred to the specialist neurological unit at Liverpool’s Walton Centre.

Yesterday his condition was described as “stable” by a relative.

The second pedestrian, also a 22-year-old man who has not been named, has since been released from Wrexham Maelor Hospital having sustained what are believed to have been minor injuries.

The road was closed between 3am and 11.30am on Sunday for investigations to take place.

The 18-year-old driver of a car involved in the incident was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and driving with excess alcohol and later released on police bail pending further enquiries.

Colin Smith, a relative of the family, said Mr Coates’ parents were with him at his bedside at the Walton Centre.

Mr Coates’ father, Douglas Coates, is the owner of the famous Riverside Taxidermy Studio in Llangollen.

Mr Smith said he believed Henry Coates, who works at Llangollen Wharf, was in a stable condition and under sedation.

No one at the wharf was available for comment.

Elizabeth Pybus, chair of governors at Ysgol Dinas Bran, where Mr Coates was a pupil, said: “Everyone in the community is thinking of him and concerned for his recovery.

“I have known him and the family for many years and a more personable young man you couldn’t wish to find.”

A North Wales Police spokeswoman said: “Inquiries into a serious road traffic collision which happened on the A5 in Glyndyfrdwy during the early hours of Sunday, June 26, are continuing.

“Officers investigating the collision are continuing to appeal to anyone who may have witnessed the incident or who may have information to contact officers at North Wales Police on 101 or 0845 607 1001 for the Welsh line and 0845 607 1002 for the English line.”