Police have made two arrests after an assault in Nelson early this morning.

Two Nelson men aged 17 and 27 are in custody and have both been charged with assault with intent to injure following an incident at Franklyn Village.

A 46 year old Nelson man has been transferred to Wellington Hospital in a critical condition with a head injury from the incident.

Nelson Bays Police have a team of 20 staff working on the investigation and specialists from ESR are assisting with the scene examination.

They are not looking for anyone else over this attack.