A YOUNG man was left fighting for his life after an unprovoked attack by a gang of men and women in York city centre.

North Yorkshire Police said two men were left unconscious with serious injuries in the assault, which happened at about 4.15am on Bank Holiday Monday.

The father of one of the victims, speaking anonymously to The Press, said his 28-year-old son was “knocked out and left for dead”, suffering a fractured skull, swelling to his eye, cuts inside his mouth and facial injuries.

He said: “When my son and his friend were leaving a nightclub my son’s friend was targeted with a hurl of verbal abuse from a group of thugs.

“They tried to walk away from the thugs who then ran after them, they caught my son’s friend first and began punching and kicking him to the ground in a totally unprovoked attack. My son was then attacked in - roughly - the Castlegate Centre area, and attacked with such force he suffered a broken skull.”

The gang - which police said was made up of men and women - trapped one of their victims in a shop doorway and “gave him a pasting”, before attacking the second victim with such force he was left with a “fractured forehead, stitches above his eye, a very badly swollen eye, and cuts to the inside and outside of his mouth”, the victim’s father said.

The 28-year-old victim spent two nights in York Hospital, where neurosurgeons and the maxillofacial surgery team treated him before allowing him to return to his home in the city on Tuesday.

The man’s father said: “The doctors said it was life-threatening at the time and he was going to be closely monitored over a 24-hour period.

“He’s back at home now, and he’s hopefully going to make a 100 per cent recovery, but will probably have scars.”

York Press:

A police spokeswoman said: “Officers are urgently appealing for anyone who witnessed the incident, or has any information which could help us to identify those involved, to get in touch. In particular, they would like to speak to anyone who was in the area around the time of the assault.”

Anyone with information should phone 101, email amanda.bostwick@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk or phone Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111 quoting reference 12170074267.