A man feared he would never see his wife and children again when he was sprayed in the eyes by a would-be mugger.

Tony Parr, 41, collapsed to his knees clutching his face and shouting for help.

The marketing manager from Brighton was withdrawing money from a Barclays Bank cashpoint machine at Preston Circus, Brighton, when the raider struck.

Recovering at home, Mr Parr told how he wrestled with the attacker and pushed him up against a wall before the effects of the spray disabled him.

He said: "It was extremely painful and I couldn't open my eyes. I knew I was in trouble."

The thief fled empty-handed as Mr Parr shouted for someone to call the police.

A passer-by stayed with him and an assistant from a nearby cafe bathed his eyes in water as officers arrived.

Mr Parr was taken by ambulance to the Sussex Eye Hospital, Brighton, where staff flushed his eyes.

They discovered his retinas had been burnt off but both are gradually growing back.

Mr Parr spent two weeks in bed at home and today his right eye has recovered but he is still short-sighted in his left.

Police do not know what substance was in the spray other than it was alkaline-based.

Mr Parr said the ordeal changed his outlook on life: "I'm now very wary when I use a cashpoint machine but it has had a positive effect as well.

"I don't take my sight for granted any more. I appreciate seeing things, especially my wife and children.

"I was worried I'd never see them again.

"As for the attacker, I think he was a drug-user looking for cash.

"I have nothing against him - he clearly needs help."

The attacker, who struck at 10am on May 25, is white, 25, 6ft, skinny, scruffy and had a large silver piercing in his nose. He wore a long brown fake bearskin coat and hooded top.

Detective Constable Claire Hamblin said: "This is a particularly nasty attack which left the victim unable to open his eyes and in a great deal of pain."

She appealed for witnesses or anyone who knows the attacker to call her on 0845 6070 999 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Police are not linking the attack to a similar incident at 10.45pm on Tuesday at a Natwest machine in Tisbury Road, Hove.

The 25-year-old victim was sprayed and punched before the raider fled in the man's car.

The victim's eyes were stinging and watering but he did not need hospital treatment.