School cleaner Ashley Maunder was savagely attacked in Chippenham town centre as he walked to the pub.

The 19-year-old was walking through the Market Place to the Black Horse pub in New Road just after 9pm on Friday, when he was approached by a teenager who forced him into the alley near Burtons, and assaulted him.

Mr Maunder, of Roman Way, Pewsham, who is borderline autistic, said the attack has made him too scared to go out on his own at night.

“I was walking along the Market Place when I decided to cross over near to where a group of about 20 youths were sat on the War Memorial.

“As I was going past Barclays bank I heard somebody approaching me quickly from behind. I looked and there was this teenager staring right at me.

“He was telling me he was my friend and then as we walked further he asked my age and when I said 19, he said ‘well I’m 17 and I am going to have you.’ His attitude suddenly changed and he became threatening.”

The yob forced him into the alley and pushed him against the wall with a hand around his throat before punching, kicking, and butting him to the ground.

“He bent down to look at me, I think it was to see how much damage he had done. I thought he was going to pull a knife on me and I was going to die.”

The thug then left Mr Maunder lying in the alley.

Mr Maunder crawled along the Market Place and stopped outside Abbey National, shaking and crying while people walked past him.

Mr Maunder and his family would like to thank the couple who stopped to help and stayed with him for half an hour waiting for the police, who finally called back to say nobody could come because they were busy elsewhere.