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Man dies after being assaulted while celebrating birthday

Stephen McGiffen died in hospital after the attack.

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A man has died after being attacked while out celebrating his birthday.

Stephen McGiffen had been celebrating his 36th birthday in Oldham, Greater Manchester, on Thursday night.

But in the early hours of Friday morning emergency services were called to reports of a man being assaulted and found Mr McGiffen lying on the floor with serious head injuries.

He was taken to hospital, where his family remained by his bedside, but he died on Saturday, Greater Manchester Police said.

Two men, aged 19 and 20, were arrested on suspicion of assault and bailed pending further enquiries.

Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Wilkinson said: “Our investigation has today taken a tragic turn with a family losing Stephen, someone so precious to them.

“We will continue to do whatever we can to support them and hope we will be able to provide them with the answers they are currently looking for.

“What we know so far is that there were a lot of people that came out of the bars and pubs on Yorkshire Street to witness the incident – if you haven’t yet got in touch with us, we need you to do so to tell us what you saw.

“Did you see an altercation between several people near to the Old Bank pub? Do you know who is responsible for Stephen losing his life?

“In the last 24 hours, his family’s lives have been turned upside down – please, do the right thing and pick up the phone.”

Anyone with information should call detectives on 0161 856 9908 quoting reference number 234 of 13/07/18 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

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