When Peter left his house to walk his dog, he assumed that it would be a normal walk like any other. He took the dog to a local playing field where some boys were playing football. He didn’t think anything of it at the time, and thought that the boys looked as though they were about 18 years of age.

He let the dog loose, and it chased after the football, therefore interrupting the game. The boys got angry, despite the fact that Peter was doing his best to keep in control of the dog, and they began shouting at him. He apologised, caught the dog, and put it on its lead and began to walk away.

Just thirty seconds later, one of the boys chased after him and knocked him to the ground. Another dragged the dog away so that it couldn’t attempt to protect its owner, and took it out of sight. When Peter was on the ground, the boys began to kick and punch him, until they thought he was dead. They then ran off, leaving him to die.

Luckily, a local woman, Lynda, was passing by at the time, and saw the man lying on the field. She went up to him, saw that he was still breathing and rang the police and ambulance. They arrived at the scene quickly and took him into hospital.

Although the full extent of his injuries are not yet known, it is thought that he will survive the attack. Doctors say that he may have slight brain damage from where they youths kicked him in the head, but he should be almost as he was before.

The youths have not been identified, as there was nobody else to witness the attack, and Peter did not recognise the boys. He will be interviewed again once he has recovered from his injuries.