A dad has told how he feared his 14-year-old autistic son could have been killed after being subjected to a 'punishment beating' by two neighbours who blamed him for a burglary.
Daniel Street and Lee Perry, both 32, battered the vulnerable teen with a metal bat and a walking stick, after dragging him out of a kebab shop in Denton.
The victim was left with two fractured teeth, bruising on his back, shoulder blade, face and head following the attack on September 15, last year.
On Thursday Street and Perry - who both live the same street in Denton - were convicted of assault following a trial and jailed for 20 months.
Now the victim's dad John Horsfall has told the Manchester Evening News his son, who we are not naming, was the 'victim of mistaken identity'.
Mr Horsfall said the family have been forced to move away and told how his son and is now scared to leave the house on his own.
"They are being called vigilantes, like they are some sort of heroes, but in my eyes they are child beaters - nothing more," said Mr Horsfall.
"They claimed my son tried to rob them, but I was with him all day. I left him for 20 minutes to go out to walk the dog and this happened.
"How could he have got up, gone out and tried breaking into their house in 20 minutes?
"It's a case of mistaken identity. He didn't do what they claim. They have beaten a kid up for no reason.
"My son has autism, he's isolated, he doesn't have many friends. He's not hanging round on the streets with other kids."
And Mr Horsfall also hit out at the length of the jail sentence given to Street and Perry.
'200' people turned up to an 18th birthday party at an Airbnb - it turned into a 'riot'
He said: "We all know that one blow to the head can kill. They hit my son around the head several times with a metal bat.
"They've smashed his teeth in, his arm, where he was holding it up to try and protect himself, was swollen up like a balloon.
"My son is 14 and they are 30-odd-year-old blokes and they beat him up with a bat.
"In my eyes they could have killed him, so how can that be classed as assault?
"So no, I'm not happy with the sentence, I would have liked to see them get a lot longer.
"It also feels like they are not sorry for what they did, they have shown no remorse.
Read more of today's top stories
"We've had to move house because of this, but we've only moved a few miles away.
"They could be out in a few months and we could see them in the street."
