A man was left fighting for his life after being attacked in the street.
Photographer Simon Slater suffered a fractured skull, jaw and cheekbone after he was struck on Church Street in Accrington town centre.
He was taken to the critical care unit at Royal Blackburn Hospital and treated for serious head injuries.
Simon has now been moved to hospital in Preston, where he is being treated for internal bleeding.
His parents Richard and Tracy, of Barnard Close, Oswaldtwistle, said that they are disgusted by the attack. Richard, 55, a furniture production manager, said: “We thought he was going to die when he was in a critical condition. It was heartbreaking to see, he was in such a mess.
“And it shows what one punch can do. It’s such a fine line – and touch wood, Simon is going to come out of hospital ok.”
Richard said his son, a former Rhyddings pupil, rarely goes out.
He added: “Simon went out on Friday night. He wasn’t home on Saturday morning, so we presumed he stopped with one of his friends. Later on, we called the police and the hospital and found out he was there.
“We’ve had three nights without any sleep because we were so worried. He has started to improve now, but it’s still bad because there is some internal bleeding behind his ear.
“It’s appalling that you can’t go out for an evening without this kind of thing happening.
“He doesn’t go out a lot drinking which has made it more of a shock. He’s a home lad.”
Simon lives at home with his parents and brothers Scott, 26, and Josh, 12.
Detectives said that the 25-year-old was punched at around 4.45 last Saturday morning, following an argument with a man, described by police as Asian.
The punch caused Simon to fall down and hit his head on the pavement.
DC Paul Davies said a number of people saw the attack outside the Dixie Chicken Takeaway, but no-one has yet come forward.
He said: “There was some kind of verbal altercation between the two and it carried on in the street. There was one punch and it knocked him straight down.”
Anyone who may have witnessed the assault can contact Blackburn CID on 101.
