A VISITOR to York who was found bleeding heavily in a city centre street has died from his injuries.

Andrew Hickox, 42, of Elland, near Halifax, died at about 2.20am today at York Hospital, four days after being discovered with serious head injuries in Lower Friargate.

Detectives had been treating the incident as a serious assault, although they had not ruled out a fall or car accident.

They were expected to confirm today whether a murder investigation was being launched. They were waiting for the results of a post mortem which was due to take place this afternoon.

Mr Hickox, a self-employed builder, was on a visit to the city with three friends on Saturday night.

The group visited a number of pubs in the city, including Yates's Wine Lodge, in Church Lane.

Police confirmed that Mr Hickox was in Yates's at 10.30pm on Saturday, but at some point he became separated from his friends because they were planning to go to a club.

He was expected to return to his car to see to his dog but police have been unable to trace his route on leaving the pub.

Mr Hickox was found by passers-by, at 1.15am on Sunday, suffering from serious head injuries.

His parents, Harold, 75, and Doreen, 72, maintained a bedside vigil at York Hospital in the hope that their son would recover from his injuries.

Mr Hickox, who lived alone, had two brothers, John, 45, and Peter, 41, both of Halifax.

Police have been appealing for anyone who spoke to Mr Hickox in Yates's Wine Lodge, or saw him leave, to contact them on York 618503. Mr Hickox was 5ft 9in tall and was wearing a dark-blue short-sleeved Harvey Nichols shirt, blue Henri Lloyd jeans and white Adidas trainers.

Updated: 11:03 Thursday, July 24, 2003