A father-of-two has cancelled Christmas after a horrific street attack left him with severe head injuries.

Police say David Hall, 50, argued with four men outside the smoking shelter of Willow Mount Working Men’s Club before one of the group brutally attacked him.

During the incident at 9pm on Friday, December 17, David, a forklift truck driver, was knocked unconscious.

The following day he woke up in Royal Blackburn Hospital with a fractured cheek bone, a fractured eye socket and an 8cm laceration above his left eye. David said the attack has left him housebound, worried and wondering if he’ll be spending Christmas in hospital.

He said: "Christmas is cancelled now whatever happens. We can’t plan anything as a family because I don't know when I'm going to have to go back in hospital.

"They need me back for reconstructive surgery soon so unfortunately I have to contend with that over Christmas. At the moment I have got presents under the tree but I don't know when I’m going to open them or if I'll be with my son, daughter and wife - it's not going to be normal."

David, lives on Willows Lane, close to the club, has been visiting socially for 33 years.

He added: "You see people regularly dying from one punch so that could have been me.

"Now though, I can count myself lucky because it could have been a lot worse."

Recalling the incident David said: "My memory is still a bit cloudy.

"There was an argument and I remember being in an ambulance.

"The whole thing could only have lasted for seconds. It's not what you expect but it's all I can remember."

He added: "I haven’t been out past the doorstep yet. I'm on tablets for pain relief and I’ve not been able to eat anything yet.

"I have found myself looking out of the window. If someone walks past I think ‘is it one of them who attacked me’. I’m feeling uncomfortable and worried it could happen again but I hope not."

Detective Inspector Claire Holbrook, of Accrington CID, has made an appeal for the four men – who are all Asian – to come forward.

She said: "This attack has left the victim with a fractured cheek bone, a fractured eye socket and an 8cm laceration above his left eye.

"He was knocked unconscious and taken to hospital where he was treated. He will be regularly returning to hospital over the Christmas period."

She added: "There was a verbal altercation between the aggrieved and one of the Asian males who we believe assaulted him.

"We are making a very specific appeal for the Asian males to come forward and talk to us.

"We need them to explain how the circumstances came about as I’m aware that some of the group were trying to stop an altercation occurring.

"I will specifically appeal to those individuals to make themselves known to my team so we can ascertain how this incident came about."