TRIBUTES have poured in for a man who was killed in a pub assault on Saturday night.

The man, who has been named locally as 45-year-old Lee Christy, was assaulted in The Bear's Paw pub on Market Street in Hindley at around 10.55am.

He died yesterday, Tuesday, after he was left in a critical condition in hospital since the incident.

Lee, who had one sister and four brothers, leaves behind his daughter Leah, 17.

Leah added: "I love him deeply and he doesn’t deserve what has happened to him."

On social media, there have been a flood of messages of condolences left for Lee's family.

Gillian Whyte said: "My thoughts go out to Lee's family and friends. So terrible that this has happened to a nice bloke."

Jill Jones added: "Far too many gone too soon, no-one should go on a night out and never return home."

A murder investigation has been launched by police who say enquiries are ongoing.

Detective Inspector Andy Butterworth, of GMP’s Major Incident Team, said: “I want to extend my sincere condolences to the family of the man that died this morning as a result of the injuries he sustained after being assaulted.

“His family are understandably devastated by his death and we are providing them with support from specially trained officers at this difficult time.

“This is now being treated as a live murder investigation and we are keen to speak to anyone who may have information about exactly what happened that night and the person responsible.

“If you think that you have information that can assist our investigation then I would urge you to contact police immediately.”

Anyone with information should contact police on 0161 856 2491, quoting incident number 2245 of September 15, or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.