'Anti-English' assault victim has large section of skull removed after horrific street attack by thugs

A visitor to Wales was beaten so badly that he had had to have part of his skull removed believes he was target in an anti-English attack.

Paul Meehan, 27, has now released the horrific pictures of his caved-in skull which were taken after he fought for his life in hospital.

One of the images shows Paul's taped up head with the words 'no bone', written by doctors who had to perform extensive surgery on him to release pressure from his brain as it swelled.

Electrician Paul was enjoying a night out on October 28 with his family in the Welsh capital Cardiff when he was attacked.

He claims six thugs heard him speaking with an English accent and launched a brutal assault.

London-born Paul was punched and kicked in the head and left lying in the street.

He was tken to hospital where doctors treated him for concussion and whiplash, but three weeks later, after he had fell ill, he returned to hospital where tests revealed he had several skull fractures.

They had to remove a five-inch lump of bone to try and stop an infection spreading to his brain.

Paul, who is now only able to talk about his ordeal, said: 'They had to take a big section of skull away so I'm left with a squidgy bit on the side of my head.

'Whoever did this has ruined my life - I'm not going being to be able to go back to being my old self.

'The people who did this probably haven't thought about it since - they probably don't know how far it's gone.'

Paul grew up in Cardiff and had a slight Welsh accent when he was younger.

But he moved to Birmingham in his late teens where he picked up the region's accent which his attackers heard.

Paul was assaulted at a taxi rank after a night out with his fiance Laura Landeg, 22, and relatives in the Welsh capital.

He said: 'It was an unprovoked attack - they heard my accent, it was nothing more than that.

'I've always had a good time in Cardiff but I've been out before when this sort of thing has happened to other people.

'It could have turned into a murder case quite easily which is scary to think about.'

Paul suffered several skull fractures and bleeding in a vessel next to his brain.

'He also contracted an eye infection which spread throughout his blood stream.

Paul will no have to wait six months before a metal plate is inserted in his head to replace the missing section of skull.

Until then he is unable to work and is having regular neuro-rehabilitation treatment at a Birmingham hospital.

South Wales Police are investigating the attack and have studied CCTV from Cardiff city centre in a bid to identify the gang.

A spokesman said: 'Cardiff is a very cosmopolitan city. It hosts international sports events and is a welcoming place.

'Anti-English attacks are not regularly seen here.

'We are not ruling anything out of this investigation.

'Assaults such as this will not be tolerated in Cardiff city centre and are always fully investigated.'

 Dailymail.co.uk