The father-in-law of a man critically injured after an incident in a Suffolk village has spoken of his shock. Paul Gooderham was flown to Ipswich Hospital after sustaining life threatening head injuries at an address on the main road in Wickham Skeith, last Monday.

The father-in-law of a man critically injured after an incident in a Suffolk village has spoken of his shock.

Paul Gooderham was flown to Ipswich Hospital after sustaining life threatening head injuries at an address on the main road in Wickham Skeith, last Monday.

The 46-year-old was transferred to the specialist head injury unit at Addenbrookes Hospital on Thursday evening where doctors will assess him before starting reconstruction surgery.

Mr Gooderham's father-in-law, Tony Leek from Wilby, whose daughter Donna has been married to Mr Gooderham for 27 years, expressed the family's shock at the incident.

He said: “You hear about things like this and never imagine it will happen to you. We just can't believe it has happened to our family, he is such a devoted family man, and we are making sure that we visit him as often as we can.”

“We are shocked by what has happened,”

Mr Leek also praised the efforts of the air ambulance and the doctors and nurses at Ipswich Hospital for the “excellent care” they provided. “The medical team at Ipswich who cared for Paul have been excellent, first rate. They and the air ambulance have given my son-in-law excellent care, I can't praise them enough.”

The 71-year-old explained that his son-in-law is still in a critical condition but has been transferred to Addenbrookes and is breathing on his own.

On Monday, November 29, police received a call from a house raising concerns that a man on the premises was armed.

Officers sealed off the main village street and the Suffolk police helicopter hovered over the scene.

Police discovered a 46-year-old man with serious injuries at the property.

Mr Gooderham, a lorry driver, had previously lived at the house with his wife Donna before they separated earlier this year.

Since the separation he had been living with one of his daughters in Stradbroke. The couple had seven children, two from Mrs Gooderham's first marriage. The youngest of the children is six.

Police said a 46-year-old man from Wickham Skeith had been arrested under the Firearms Act.