A SERIOUS attack on an 18-year-old man in Chippenham that left him with head injuries has prompted a local charity which supports pub-goers on Saturday evenings to consider patrolling on other nights.

The young man was attacked on Saturday at 4am in the Bath Road car park and is still recovering from his injuries in Swindon’s Great Western Hospital.

Police have yet to reveal the victim’s identity or his current condition.

Chippenham Street Pastors offer support to people and make sure they travel home safely from a night out, but currently only operate on Saturday evenings.

Michael Weeks, co-ordinator of Chippenham Street Pastors, believes they would consider patrolling the streets on Friday evenings as well if more volunteers were to join but numbers would need to double from their current number of 28.

“Something so serious is very rare but wherever you have alcohol you have the potential for anti-social behaviour, but incidents like this are very rare,” said Mr Weeks.

“You do have minor scuffles in Chippenham but we’re lucky because there are a lot of partners working together to make sure these things don’t happen.

“I’m a big believer that Chippenham is a very safe place. My wife used to wait up all night worried about me going out on the streets with what I may have seen or been caught up in.

“Now she’s always fast asleep because I come home saying it’s great and there are a lot of people in Chippenham who look out for one another.”

Chippenham achieved Purple Flag status in 2016, which is awarded to a town or city based on the safety and successfulness of its evening and night-time economy.

Paul Duester, team leader at The Brunel, said: “Two weeks ago we had a group of rugby playing army lads, they started to get a bit drunk and then another group they knew came in and we ended up having to throw one of them out.

“It’s the first time in a year of me being here we’ve had trouble and we phoned the police as they were fighting outside.

“They said they will send someone down and four police cars turned up, so from our point of view they were very quick.”

Following the incident on Saturday, a 19-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and affray, while a 20-year-old man was also arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm. Both have been bailed pending investigation.

Police are still appealing for witnesses following the attack on Saturday and anyone with information can call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

DC Justine Parsons from Melksham CID said: “There were a lot of people around at the time of this assault, and I would appeal for anyone who witnessed the incident, or the events leading up to it, to come forward and speak to us.”