A 45-year-old man suffered a fractured skull after violence flared at a music festival in North Dorset.
The victim, a Shaftesbury man who is not being identified, was struck on the head with such force that he needs to undergo reconstructive surgery.
Thousands of festival-goers attended the family friendly Endorse It In Dorset at |Oakley Farm near Sixpenny Handley between August 6 and August 8.
Police have revealed how trouble broke out between midnight and 1am on August 8.
DC Steve Brown from Weymouth CID said: “The assault occurred in the Bakers Bar BB tent situated between the DD stage and the Wildcat stage. I understand that the DJ stopped the music and asked those involved to stop fighting.”
He added: “This was a particularly nasty assault, especially when you consider that the victim was attending a small, family orientated festival with his young son.”
It is not believed that the 12-year-old boy witnessed his father being attacked.
DC Brown appealed to anyone who witnessed the incident or with information about the man responsible to contact him urgently.
The man police are trying to trace is white, aged between 25 and 30, five feet 10 tall with a fit-to-average build and Mediterranean appearance.
Witnesses and anyone with information should phone Dorset police in confidence on 01305 222222 or the free and anonymous Crimestoppers line on 0800 555111.
