THE brother of a man fighting for his life following a horrific crash has issued a heartfelt thanks to the thousands of people who have sent messages of support.

Mark Sale, 34, of Dovercourt, suffered a serious head injury in a crash in Tattingstone, Suffolk, on Monday night.

He is currently in a critical condition in hospital.

Lee Sale, Mark's brother, says the entire family has been "overwhelmed" by the floods of support from people who know him.

"We have had around 2,000 messages of support, you would not believe how many people have come forward," he said.

"It is a humble feeling to receive all of this support, it has touched all of us.

"My parents are obviously extremely upset, but we feel completely overwhelmed with all the messages we have received.

"He is in Addenbrooke's Hospital and he is fighting for his life."

Lee, 35, of Dovercourt, added: "A lot of people in Harwich know him, he used to play football for Harwich and Parkeston FC.

"We both grew up together and he has so many friends.

"He is a physically strong guy and a fighter, we are crossing our fingers.

"He is quite poorly, his organs are damaged and he has a bleed on the brain.

"Families have to stick together no matter what the situation.

"I am quite an emotional person, my youngest sister is quite calm and collected - my parents need that presence more than me at the moment I think.

"We have no idea what happened, the only person who does is Mark.

"We are completely focused on nothing else except his recovery."

Suffolk Police are investigating the crash, which happened along the A137 in Tattingstone at around 8.30pm.

A white Vauxhall Combo van driven by Mr Sale and a blue Ford Galaxy were involved in the collision.

Officers are appealing for anyone with information, or who may have witnessed the crash to call 101.