A driver says he was punched in the face as he sat in his car by a thug who reacted when he beeped his horn asking him to move.
The attacker asked Muhammad Qasim “are you a f***ing idiot” before launching an attack in a car park behind Piccadilly train station.
Mr Qasim, 31, was attacked after finishing a shift at the busy station on Monday night (September 27).
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The railway worker suffered a cut lip and bruising to his face and body following the attack - which happened on Sheffield Street at around 8.20pm.
Mr Qasim was trying to leave the car park when noticed a red Mazda was blocking his exit.
He beeped his horn in an attempt to alert the owner of the car.
But within seconds he was confronted by a man.
“My car was blocked by another guy, so I beeped him,” he told the M.E.N.
“He came out and was looking over to where a van was unloading. He said ‘are you a f***ing idiot?’.
“I asked ‘can you move it’ and he asked me ‘what are you going to do?’. I told him I just needed to go home and he swore at me again and then just punched me twice. Once to my face and once to the head.
“I was just sitting in my car with the window down.
“I got out and he ran off. I was getting some water because my lip was bleeding and he came back.”
Mr Qasim says the man started hitting and kicking him and he tried to defend himself by fighting back.
“I called the police and he ran off when he heard that,” he added.
An ambulance attended to check Mr Qasim’s injuries.
He says he then waited for police at the scene for two hours before calling a friend to drive him home.
“At 2am I got a call from a sergeant who said they were very busy and because I was out of danger they would take a statement the next day,” he says.
“I didn’t go to work today because of that. But they haven’t come out yet.
“I’m now a bit scared to go back to work.”
Mr Qasim was still waiting to speak with officers from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) when he spoke to the M.E.N on Tuesday afternoon.
Mr Qasim describes the attacker as a white man with dark hair who was wearing a red hooded top and black jogging bottoms.
He was driving a red Mazda, he says.
Greater Manchester Police said the incident has been reported and officers are investigating.
"The victim should be being spoken to today and we apologise for the wait," a spokesperson for the force said.
Any information about the incident can be passed to police online, if able, or via 101 quoting incident 2943 of 27/09/2021.
Details can also be passed to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
