Man seriously injured in central Auckland

The man was found on the corner of Victoria and Albert Streets. File photo / NZ Herald

A man was seriously injured when he seems to have fallen over and knocked his head on the sidewalk in central Auckland this morning.

There was a puddle of blood and several distressed onlookers on the corner of Albert St and Victoria St, where the incident occurred at about 10am.

Rachel Johnson, from Vienna Cafe across the road, rushed to the man's aid and tried to stop the bleeding with a cloth when she saw him on the ground.

"He was in a very bad way,'' she said.

She was not sure whether he had tripped as he was waiting to cross the road or had fallen because of a medical condition.

Detective Ewen Settle said police were still trying to establish whether the man, who is in his late 60s, had fallen or whether someone else had inflicted the injuries.

He was taken to hospital in an ambulance.