A DIABETIC dad-of-one who suffered horrific facial injuries during a vicious graveyard attack by a gang of youths has spoken out about his ordeal.

Dan Hall was attacked by four teenagers in September last year as he walked through a dark St Mary’s graveyard following a night out in Andover.

The former John Hanson IT technician had originally approached the gang in the High Street to ask for a lighter, but was met with a tirade of abuse from the teenagers.

The 30-year-old continued on his way home, cutting through St Mary’s Cemetery on his way back to his girlfriend’s house on Augusta Park.

But as he reached the middle of the pitch-black cemetery he was approached by the hoodclad gang, who then pushed him to the ground.

A couple of the youngsters then began to kick Mr Hall in the head, causing him to black out.

Talking about the experience, he said: “They went two either side of me and I tried to carry on walking before I felt a shove in my back.

“I’m pretty sure two of them kicked me in the head as I was down, but I blacked out.

“When I woke up my hands were covered blood and there was blood everywhere on the ground.”

Unfortunately for Mr Hall, his ordeal was not quite over yet.

As he picked himself up and continued his walk home he was approached by the gang near to Shepherds Spring Lane.

The youngsters threatened him once more, but Mr Hall quickly informed them that he had called the police.

The gang then ran off, with one apparently shouting: “I can’t get done again”.

The bloodied father-of-one later called his girlfriend, the police and the ambulance service and was taken to hospital.

Mr Hall’ s injuries included a fractured nose and a badly bruised eye, while doctors said the IT technician was “lucky” not to have suffered a broken eye socket during the vicious assault.

However, due to his diabetes, the attack has had a more profound impact on his life.

The damage to his eye has left him at permanent risk of infection, the first of which triggered a week-long stay in hospital and a month off from his current job at Abel and Cole.

The 30-year-old has also recently picked up a second infection and faces the possibility of another week off work.

Asked about the impact on his life, Mr Hall said: “It has had an impact, yes.

“Because of my diabetes I’m susceptible to infection but I’ve never had a problem with my eyes before.

“I don’t like walking on my own anymore and I certainly keep looking over my shoulder a lot more nowadays.

“People will say I’m 30 and I should have just defended myself but when you are pushed to the ground and kicked in the face what can you really do?”

Police later arrested four teenagers on suspicion of assault, but they were released without charge following a review by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Mr Hall says this was due to the fact he could not fully identify which of the teenagers kicked him in the head.

At this point, the 30-year-old said that he was prepared to leave the nasty incident behind him.

But he soon began to hear the stories of other victims who had been attacked by the teenagers and their associates.

He said: “I’ve heard about another victim and the impact that it’s had on him.

“He rarely goes out and doesn’t socialise as much anymore.

“There is another person I know who is vulnerable and they attacked them.

“Apparently they won’t even come out of their house anymore because they are scared.

“They seem to be targeting anyone that’s vulnerable.”

Mr Hall hopes by telling his story he can help warn the community and perhaps prevent further attacks.

The father-of-one also hopes to send a message to parents with teenagers about being aware of where their children are at night.

He said: “People need to think about wh o their children associate with and they need to think about who their kids are hanging out with.

“Not all of those kids are bad, I’m fully aware of that, but parents should know where their children are and what they are doing.

“At the end of the day those four kids were sitting on a bench in the middle of town at 4 o'clock in the morning.

“The parents must take some responsibility.”

Meanwhile, police say they are aware of the incident, but have denied knowing about any other incidents related to Mr Hall’s attack.

A spokesperson said: “We were called to a report of an assault in St Mary’s Cemetery in Andover just after 4am on Sunday, September 11, last year.

“The assault took place sometime between 3.45am and 4am that day.

“We arrested four boys in connection with this incident.

“Following a review by the CPS of the evidence we gathered a decision was made to release the boys without charge.”