COURAGEOUS Darren McMillan has spoken out about the racist attack that left him needing nine staples in his head.

Mr McMillan, 31, from Chippenham, was walking home alone from a night out when two men shouted abuse at him before smashing a glass bottle over his head.

The attack happened in the early hours of September 2 as Mr McMillan was walking along Bristol Road.

Mr McMillan, a promising rugby star with the Chippenham First team, had been celebrating the first game of the season.

The attack left him with a three-inch gash to the back of his head, which required a series of metal staples.

He said: "I have lived in Chippenham all of my life and have never experienced any kind of racism.

"The men that did this are pathetic and sad, especially as it was a totally unprovoked attack - Chippenham is just not like that.

"They seemed to take offence to the colour of my skin and followed close behind me and kept shouting racist abuse.

"At that point I thought this is not going to end well, so I called 999.

"I was on the phone to the police and told them I was being followed and thought I was going to be attacked.

"The next thing I know I was on the floor and there was blood and glass everywhere.

"I put my hand to my head and literally couldn't see the phone in my hand - there was so much blood.

"Someone stopped to see how I was just before an emergency response unit arrived and took me to hospital.

"This is not the sort of thing that happens in a place like Chippenham - it's just a quiet market town. The town gets a bad reputation when things like this happen, but I wouldn't have lived here for 31 years if it was that bad.

"This hasn't put me off going out in Chippenham - this was just a one-off and I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"These people deserve to be punished and I would like to see someone caught."

Mr McMillan, who is a civil servant based in Bristol, is of mixed race whose mother's side of the family comes from the West Indies. He has lived in Chippenham all his life and went to school in Bath.

His attackers followed him down Bristol Road shouting abuse such as black boy' and nig nog'. During the attack, Mr McMillan got through to the police who then alerted the ambulance service.

He was told that the nearest ambulance was in Salisbury, but due to the severity of the attack, an emergency response unit was sent.

The vehicle arrived within five minutes and took him to the Royal United Hospital in Bath.

He was kept in overnight and allowed to go home the next day.

Mr McMillan has been married to wife Marianne, 32, for five years and lives in the Allington area of Chippenham.

Sgt Steve Cox, of Chippenham Police said: "Since the attack, a 20-year-old Chippenham man has been arrested and has been released on bail for further investigation."

Police have appealed for witnesses to call PC Turner at Chippenham Police Station on 0845 4087000.