An army veteran who has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder says he's now too scared to go out after he was glassed in the face during his daughter's 18th birthday celebrations.
Chris Harrison, was hit in the face with a pint glass on Christmas Eve in Sheffield while celebrating his daughter Chloe's 18th. He had stitches after sustaining seven cuts to his face.
He said the psychological impact of the attack, outside a bar just after midnight, has been "unbelievable."
The single father-of-two said he feared he was "going to die" during the unprovoked assault, which left him in agony.
Chris, from Sheffield, said: “It was so traumatic, I’m scared to go anywhere. I haven’t been out of my flat since it happened.
"The effect its had on me psychologically is unbelievable. Looking at me, because I’m ex-army, you’d think I could take it but I thought he was going to kill me."
He had just said goodbye to his daughter in a nearby pub as she headed off to a club in the city centre after a family gathering for her birthday.
As he waited for a taxi, a man attacked him with a glass after claiming he was "looking at him."
He said: “It was the end of the night and my daughter wanted to go to a club so I went home, clubs aren’t my thing anymore.
“There was a man on the phone arguing with someone, I was looking in his general direction and he started shouting ‘what are you looking at’ and then the next thing, he was calling me a racist b******."
“I told him I wasn’t a racist, I was just waiting for my taxi and I did everything I could to defuse the situation."
After he threw the glass in his face, he said: "I was shocked, dazed and confused. I didn’t know what to do."
After he was taken to hospital in a taxi, hospital staff told Chris he was lucky he hadn't lost his eyesight.
Chris, whose son Daniel died last year aged just 23, was forced to undergo a four-hour operation to remove the glass.
He added: “My top lip split completely. Christmas was horrible, I was in agony, I couldn’t eat and my face was in so much pain.
"Chloe was shocked, upset and distraught. My son died last year so I’ve had that to deal with and now I’m just worried that he’ll do it to someone else."
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He said police have CCTV but they have said "they don't think there'll be much chance of a prosecution".
A South Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: "At around 1:30am on 24 December 2019, police received reports of an attack outside the Sheffield Water Works Company Wetherspoons on Carver Lane.
"It is reported that the victim was waiting for a taxi when he was hit with a pint glass, causing facial injuries which required hospital treatment.
"Extensive lines of enquiry, including detailed analysis of CCTV footage, have been pursued to find who is responsible, however the attacker has not yet been identified." Anyone with information is urged to call 101.
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