A MAN fears he will never see out of his right eye again after being subjected to a brutal, unprovoked attack.

The victim, 24, was walking home from a New Year’s Eve night out when he was set upon by a thug who stamped on his head.

He suffered severe damage to his right eye – some tissue came out of the socket while his retina and lense were detached.

The victim, a builder from Leigh, was confronted after leaving Bar Vic on Victoria Avenue, Southend, with his girlfriend.

He has already undergone two operations at Southend Hospital, yet doctors are still unclear what the long-term prognosis for his sight will be.

The man, speaking about his ordeal for the first time, said: “The only thing I remember is waking up at my girlfriend’s after my first operation and being told I had to go back to hospital that day.

“I can’t see anything out of my eye, just blackness, and the doctors aren’t sure if I will see again. I’ve also suffered nothing but constant headaches since it happened.”

The victim, who did not want to be named, had another operation on Tuesday to try to reattach the retina, but it is too early to tell whether the surgery was a success.

The Echo previously told how the man and his girlfriend, 25, where approached by the thug who initially rode past the pair on a bicycle.

Without warning, he turned around, got off the bike and began kicking and punching the man before stamping on his head.

Detectives probing the attack have released an e-fit of the attacker and want to hear from witnesses.

The victim added: “It has made me think twice about going out. It’s my girlfriend I feel sorry for.

“I can’t remember anything, but she saw it all and she’s had to keep reliving it. But she’s been brilliant at helping the police.

“I just want them to catch him.”

The attacker was 6ft tall, stocky, with big arms and wore a dark hoodie and dark jeans.

Witnesses to the attack, which happened at 2.45am on Saturday January 1, can contact Det Con David Wood at Southend CID on 0300 3334444.