Man with 600 stitches fights for justice

4:48pm Wednesday 3rd October 2007

A man who needed 600 stitches after his face was carved open with a piece of glass has appealed to the High Court in an attempt to catch his attacker.

Jack Brown was thrown down two flights of stairs, punched repeatedly in the head and body and slashed all over his face and neck.

He needed hundreds of stitches on his face and takes daily medication to numb the pain from the injuries he received.

The attack happened in a flat in Cavendish Place, Eastbourne, in February 2003 but the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has dropped the case three times.

The 38-year-old will appear before the High Court in the Strand, London, on Monday, where the judge could recommend the case is reopened.

Mr Brown has been given hope because a witness came forward after an appeal was published in The Argus in June.

He said: "Four years down the line there is still no justice for me.

"I never had my day in court and I want to because I deserve it.

"It has finished my working life and I have nightmares every night.

"The person who did this to me is guilty and if the case is looked at again he will be found guilty."

Mr Brown said the thug teared the skin off his face with a sheet of glass and tried to gouge out his eye.

He broke free and reached the metal railing outside the flats but could not grip the bars because his hands were covered in blood.

He was dragged back in by his feet and the thug then slit Mr Brown's throat and stabbed his neck.

After around 30 minutes a policeman arrived and pulled the attacker away.

The case was dropped on the first occasion due to lack of evidence and later because of problems with Mr Brown's statement made from his hospital bed.

It was dropped again after the attacker claimed self-defence.

The attacker had a bite mark on the arm which he had stuffed into Mr Brown's mouth to silence his screams.

Mr Brown, a decorator, has been unable to return to work and is frightened to leave his home.

His legal adviser Chris Martin said: "This has been a four year long campaign because I have always known the guilty man is walking the streets.

"I want the judge to recognise the offender exists and charge the man who sliced Jack's face off.

"Up until now we have not had a witness but thanks to the story in The Argus somebody came forward."

Mrs Martin received a letter from the CPS which said, despite the new evidence, there was little chance of a conviction.

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