A GWENT man today told how his life was devastated by a pub doorman who left him with facial nerve damage after "poleaxing" him to the ground.

Robert Cook lost control of the nerves in the left side of his face after the attack in August last year.

The 36-year-old, from Bredon Close, Risca, also lost his sense of smell and taste as a result of the condition Bell's Palsy which was brought on by the attack.

Bell's Palsy is a condition that causes the facial muscles to weaken or become paralysed. It's caused by trauma to the seventh cranial nerve

Mr Cook said: "I haven't been able to work or go out for months. I can't eat properly either - everything tastes like rubber to me now."

Last week David Hampshire, 47, of Almond Avenue, Risca, was found guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm on Mr Cook. He is due to be sentenced next month.

Cardiff crown court heard how Hampshire, a doorman at the Risca Inn, had turned and butted Mr Cook before punching him unconscious.

Yesterday, Mr Cook said: "He hit and fractured the left side of my jaw and I fell onto the ground. I must have been out for ten minutes.

"I staggered home, I didn't know what I was doing. It took me an hour rather than 20 minutes."

But it wasn't until days later that the full impact of the attack was felt.

Mr Cook said: "I got up and was in the kitchen making breakfast as usual when my girlfriend noticed my face.

"The whole left side was just hanging. It was very frightening."

He was taken to Newport's Royal Gwent Hospital where he underwent brain scans and was told his injuries had caused Bell's Palsy.

For the past five-and-a-half months he has had weekly physiotherapy sessions at St Woolos Hospital in Newport and has had to use an electronic device at night to stimulate the nerves.