Five men were today being questioned by detectives in connection with the attempted murder of a former paratrooper from Worthing.
The five were arrested yesterday morning and taken to separate police stations in Sussex to be interviewed.
Ex-para Michael Reynolds, 49, is still in a specialist London neurological hospital fighting for his life.
He was found lying unconscious in a pool of blood in Bedford Row, Worthing, on May 28.
Detectives investigating the attack say Mr Reynolds was involved in an argument with a group of men at a fish and chip shop on the night of the attack.
The Blue Ocean Fish Bar in South Street, Worthing, is about 450 yards from where Mr Reynolds was found.
Mr Reynolds, of Friars Walk, managed to ring the doorbell on his friends' flat in Bedford Row but had collapsed by the time one of them answered the door.
He was wearing a smart blazer with a Parachute Regiment badge, collar and tie when he was attacked.
He had been at the Water Front pub in Marine Parade between 8pm and 10pm and a disco at the Windsor Hotel between 12.30am and 1am.
Police want to speak to anyone who saw Mr Reynolds on the night of the attack or who knows him.
They particularly want to speak to a couple and an elderly man who were in the fish bar when the fight broke out.
Anyone with information should call the incident room at Worthing police station on 0845 6070999.
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