A MAN who sustained life-threatening head injuries in an unprovoked attack has spoken about his ordeal.
Glynn Fort, 44, was left in a pool of blood in Water Street, Accrington, following a night out last April.
He was rushed to Blackburn Royal Infirmary and underwent a gruelling three-hour operation where surgeons screwed two titanium plates into his face after his jaw was broken in two places.
A jury found Danny Derbyshire, 29, of Burnley Road, Accrington, guilty of causing grievous bodily harm after a three-day trial at Burnley Crown Court last week.
But Glynn, who was in court to see his attacker remanded in custody until 29 October for sentencing at Minshull Street Crown Court, said the incident had left him afraid of the dark and unable to go out alone.
He said: "I don't think I will ever get over it completely. I have to get taxis everywhere and can't go out on my own. I think it will take me some time to get back to normal."
Married to Catherine and with three children, Glynn, of Coppice Avenue, Accrington, spent six days in hospital and will have the metal plates in his face for the rest of his life.
He said: "It was terrible for my wife and children to come and see me in hospital looking like that. My wife wouldn't let our youngest daughter Chantelle come to see me. It would have been too upsetting.
"I was unconsious after the attack. They thought I had a fractured skull. I will have to go back to see a specialist for check-ups."
Heaping praise on the police for securing a conviction, Glynn said: "They did a fantastic job and worked hard on the case. It wasn't a nice thing for my parents to go through, especially at their age."
Echoing his sentiments, his dad Bill, 76, said: "The paramedics didn't think he would make it to the hospital. He was black and blue. There's not a lot of people who praise the police, but they were excellent. They looked after us and kept ringing us up to find out if we were okay."
Sergeant Paul Broxson, from Accrington Police, said: "This was a vicious and unprovoked attack which resulted in a sound conviction. The police would like to point out attacks of this nature are relatively rare and the detection and conviction rate for this type of offence is extremely high."
