A GANG of 10 yobs kicked and punched a young man while he was walking on crutches in the street.

Richard Brixey, 22, was set upon by a group wearing hoodies in what he says was an unprovoked attack.

The father-of-one was kicked and punched in the face and body before his head was smashed into a lamppost.

He told the Daily Echo the attack, at 10.15pm on Thursday in an alley behind Highlands Crescent, has left him scared to go out.

Mr Brixey said: "I heard someone call me a cripple and as I turned around I was punched in the face.

"Then two people walked either side of me and pulled my crutches from under me, taking away my only stability.

"They were throwing punches and kicks towards my back. They smashed my face into the lamppost I was holding onto."

Mr Brixey needs crutches after slipping a disc in his back.

He is waiting for further tests to see if he needs an operation. Amazingly, he escaped with a cut to his forehead, a small cut across his cheek and bruising on his eye.

Mr Brixey doesn't know why he was attacked. "I'm new to the area. I've lived in Dorset for the last eight or nine years but I haven't made any enemies," he said.

"I think it's pathetic. If people can pick on someone my age on crutches, what's to stop them from doing it to an older person?

"I was totally vulnerable and there was nothing I could have done."

Mr Brixey said the attack was a frightening and frustrating experience.

"I'm a black belt in Ninjitsu and had I been fit I could have stuck up for myself.

"It takes a lot to scare me but now I'm scared to go out."

Police are appealing for witnesses to the incident to call 01202 222222 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.