Disabled man tells of vicious unprovoked attack in Leyland

Married father of three Mark Skelly says he is still shaken after the shocking incident in Leyland.

He described his attacker as “psycho”.

Police say they are still trying to trace the offender.

The assault took place on Towngate in the town centre.

Former roofer and builder Mr Skelly was driving his Ford Galaxy and just gazing out of the window as he waited in traffic. I was at the traffic lights, there were about five cars in front of me,” he explained.

“There was a roof I was looking up at, I thought ‘that’s rubbish’ - I did it when I was a kid.

“I saw this couple. He walked past me and stopped. I saw him out of the corner of my eye.

“I wound the window down, he was ‘effing and jeffing’ and saying, ‘what you looking at?’. I looked away, I didn’t want to make eye contact with him.

“The next thing he’s punching me through the window.

“I told him I was disabled and to get off.”

Mr Kelly, of Eastwood Road, Leyland, had a leg amputated when he was thrown by a horse and wears an artificial limb.

As a result of the accident eight years ago, he also suffers from complex regional pain syndrome (CRPs) and has serious damage to his right arm.

He continued: “I jumped out of the car then. I go towards him saying, ‘what are you doing, why are you hitting me?’

“Next thing this woman was saying, ‘don’t hit him’ to me.

“He lunged at me with a six inch knife or sharp piece of metal. I jumped out of the way.

“I was pretty shook up.”

Mark said the attack even more upsetting for him as he supports a charity that helps to take injured armed forces veterans on holiday to the Isle of Man and was on his way to a meeting in connection with the charity.

“That’s the upsetting bit,” he said.

“I haven’t been out of the house since. I’m bad enough as it is. It’s crucified me.”

A spokesman for Lancashire Police said an incident was reported to them at about 2.30pm on Sunday, January 28.

They said: “It looks like the victim was sat in his car in traffic looking across the road in the direction of another man who appears to have shouted out ‘what you looking at?’

“The victim replied saying he was looking at some tiles on a roof. The offender approached the vehicle and punched the victim on the head several times.

“The victim got out of the car and tried to protect himself.

“The offender made off before police arrived.

“No arrests were made and it is ongoing.”