I thought he was going to kill me...
DOG WALKER BATTERED AND STRANGLED IN FRENZIED ATTACK
A MAN of 64 says he feared he was going to die as he was brutally beaten up while walking his dogs.
Thomas Hart was left with terrible facial injures after being repeatedly punched and kicked by a man on a path behind his home.
The frenzied attack came after a passerby took issue with a head torch the former paramedic was wearing.
Mr Hart says the man, who was accompanied by two children, then proceeded to punch, kick and stamp on his head during a five-minute attack in Battersby Street, Ince-in-Makerfield, Wigan.
The man then tried to strangle Mr Hart with a dog lead, leaving him gasping for breath and fearing for his life.
After continuing to kick and stamp on Mr Hart’s head, the man left him lying unconscious on the ground.
Mr Hart said: “I had only gone about 300 yards along the path when this guy and two children were walking towards me. I pulled to one side because one of my dogs is a Great Dane and I didn’t want to frighten the children.
“It’s pitch black down there at night so I had my head torch on. I heard him say ‘get that **** ing torch light out of my eyes.’ I told him it was shining on my dogs and then he came running at me and threw me on the floor and started punching me. It just went on and on and on.” The man grasped hold of a dog lead that was hanging around Mr Hart’s neck and attempted to strangle him.
“He kept pulling it tighter,” Mr Hart said. “I thought I was going to die, I couldn’t breathe.”
The attack did not end there as Mr Hart was then dragged into the middle of the path, where the man began stamping on his head and kicking him.
He added: “I thought he was going to kill me and leave me for dead.
“He was in a frenzy and it didn’t seem like he was going to stop. His kids had run off screaming at this point. They were only about seven or eight.”
The next thing Mr Hart remembered was waking up on the path, which is popular with dog walkers in the area, with blood on his face and his dogs next to him.
After mustering the strength to stagger back home, he called for police and an ambulance.
The attack has left him with severe bruising to his face and head, as well as bruises to his chest, back and arms, and cuts to his lip and knee.
The man who carried out the attack is described as in his mid-30s, about 5ft 11ins, with short hair and a large build. He was wearing a blue T-shirt.
Mr Hart added: “The whole thing has left me feeling terrified. I have not been out of the house since because I keep reliving what happened. It just won’t go away.”
Greater Manchester Police have yet to comment.