A SAVAGE attack caused these horrific injuries - but a Gwent community's wall of silence means police have yet to catch the culprits.

Tyrone Watkins, 47, a former engineer, from Cefn Fforest, Blackwood, spent nearly a month in hospital after he was attacked in the early hours of December 27 on Blackwood High Street.

Even now, his jaw remains wired and he can only consume liquid food.

All Mr Watkins wants is for his attackers to be brought to justice by the police and courts.

The brutal assault happened after Mr Watkins had spent Boxing Day with his family. He left them later that evening and went for a final drink in Porters public house, on Blackwood High Street.

He had booked a taxi, but the pub closed sooner than expected at around 11.50pm.

Mr Watkins left the pub and went out into the street, where he saw two men jostling.

Just as he was about to walk away, he heard a girl scream and saw two young women fighting.

Deciding to step in, he moved between the girls to try and break up the fight, telling them to calm down.

He said: "The next thing I knew, I was grabbed from behind and thrown to the ground.

"I can remember someone punching me over and over again to the face and saying Don't you ever touch my girlfriend again.'"

He blacked out and only regained consciousness in the Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport.

Witnesses from another nearby pub told him afterwards he had been surrounded by a group of people, who were punching and kicking him.

He was taken to hospital after a woman on the scene managed to flag down a police van.

Mr Watkins said: "I was in extreme pain when I woke up. At first I didn't notice, but as soon as I tried to move it was terrible. I had to be reminded what had happened."

His right eye socket was broken in three places and his left eye socket was also fractured. He had five clean breaks in his right cheek bone, which had caved in entirely leaving a splintered bone sticking out through his skin, as well as five smaller fractures in his left cheek.

His jaw was dislocated and his nose was completely smashed, and he had cuts and bruises across his entire swollen face and head.

Mr Watkins said: "My 81-year-old father came to see me and couldn't get his head off the bed for crying, and I could tell my mother was upset too.

"They wouldn't even give me a mirror at first."

And when he saw his shocking injuries, there was worse to come.

Originally, surgeons refused to operate to repair Mr Watkins' facial damage, as he had a history of heart problems and when examining him doctors detected a blood clot, which was causing his heart to beat out of rhythm.

But after spending around a week in the hospital's cardiology unit, he was deemed fit for the maxilllo-facial surgery he needed to rebuild his collapsed face.

Perhaps partly from relief Mr Watkins wept as he tried to express to the Argus his gratitude for the incredible job done by the surgeons who repaired and reconstructed his shattered features.

And amazingly, despite his traumatic ordeal and painful surgery, Mr Watkins remains positive.

He said: "I don't want revenge. The only time I felt angry was when I had my jaw wired and my nose was full of congealed blood and I was really scared then because I felt I couldn't breathe.

"I'm a happy person, I love my kids and grandchildren to bits and this hasn't changed that."

Even so, he admits when he was released from hospital this week, and went into Blackwood, it was a frightening reminder of the attack.

"I've never been scared of anything. But I was looking over my shoulder, really paranoid."

And while not knowing his attackers' identity is frightening, Mr Watkins is more sickened by the lack of witnesses who have come forward to police since the assault.

"There were lots of people there that night," he said.

"Someone knows something."

But while he feels deeply betrayed by his community, Mr Watkins feels only scorn for his attackers.

"They're cowards," he said. "If they had a conscience,they'd give themselves up."

Police are currently trawling the town's CCTV footage but are reappealing for witnesses to help them catch those responsible.

Anyone with information, who witnessed the attack or was in the vicinity at the time should contact Blackwood CID on 01633 838111 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.