A MAN is waiting to see if his eyesight will return to normal after bravely helping a woman who was being attacked.

Josh Butnall, 21, of King’s Road, Westcliff, was brutally beaten when he stepped in to break up an argument between a man and a woman in the early hours of the morning.

The carpenter ran across London Road, Westcliff, to help after seeing the man hit his victim’s head against a scaffold pole, near the junction with Crowstone Road. Josh recalled: “I just remember a lot of punches.

“He kept hitting me in the face.

“It only stopped when two blokes drove past and shouted at the man to stop.”

The attack left Josh with a swollen jaw, black eye and several cuts to his face.

However, when the bruising under his eye subsided yesterday, he discovered the vision in his right eye was blurry. Josh is now anxiously awaiting tests to find out whether he will ever recover his sight.

He said: “It’s pretty worrying. I don’t really know what to expect.

“I wouldn’t change what I did though. If I saw a woman getting attacked, I’d do it all over again. It’s instinct.”

Josh, who is self-employed, had been enjoying a night out with friends on Friday when the assault happened. He said: “I went into a kebab shop and saw this bloke having an argument with a woman. I didn’t think anything more about it, but when I got outside I saw them again.

“She tried to leave and he grabbed her hair and bashed her head against the scaffolding.”

Police are now appealing for help in tracking down Josh’s attacker.

He was muscular, aged between 18 and 25, with short, spiky hair.

The woman was slim with dark, shoulder-length hair.

Witnesses to the attack, particularly the woman or the two men in the car, are asked to contact PC Steve Wells on 0300 3334444.