THE VICTIM of a brutal assault is calling for the nationwide broadcast of an appeal to catch his attackers.

Tyrone Watkins, 47, from Cefn Fforest was set upon by a gang after trying to break up a fight in Blackwood on December 27.

He remembers little of the attack but was left with a dislocated jaw, shattered nose, three breaks in his right eye socket, a fractured left eye socket and five fractures in his cheek.

Now he is calling for details of the savage and unprovoked attack to be broadcast on the BBC's Crimewatch in a bid to catch those responsible.

Mr Watkins was about to go home from Porters pub on Blackwood High Street at around midnight on December 27 when the attack happened.

He heard a scream and saw two women fighting.

Deciding to intervene, he stepped between them and tried to calm the situation down.

Suddenly he was grabbed from behind and thrown to the ground.

Mr Watkins' last memory is of being punched repeatedly to the face while a man told him: "Don't ever touch my girlfriend again."

He woke in hospital, in agony.

DS Mark Johnson of Blackwood CID said: "Approaching Crimewatch is something we would consider.

"But at the moment we are focussing our investigation on local lines of inquiry."

These include examination of CCTV footage.

But he stressed that a request for a Crimewatch appeal may be an option, if these do not yield results.

In the meantime, Mr Watkins remains positive about his recovery - although he has lost around two stone since the attack.

"I'm 500 per cent better since I've been home," he said.

"My jaw is still wired and my one eye is still swollen, but I'm feeling much better.

"I just want the people who did this caught."