Irish backpackers critically injured in hammer attack

Two Irish backpackers were critically injured after they were attacked in a boarding house in Melbourne, Australia, in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The men, in their 30s, are thought to have sustained blows to the head during the assault, which according to local media reports was carried out with a hammer.

Police in Melbourne arrested a suspect three hours after the incident which occurred at about 1am local time at a boarding house in Lynedoch Avenue, in the St Kilda East area of the city.