by Ed Targett

A man battered to within an inch of his life by a friend says the brutal attack has left him scared to leave the house alone.

Dad-of-one Rob Wallis, 35, spent weeks in intensive care after he was savagely beaten by Gregory Walters at the attacker’s home in Clifftown Gardens, Herne Bay.

Walters, 40, was initially accused of attempted murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of GBH with intent and will be sentenced in November.

Rob says the attack in July, which was only stopped when Walters’ 82-year-old dad stepped in, has left him with more than just physical scars.

Sitting with his dog Bailey and smoking a cigarette in the front garden of his Daytona Way home, he said: “The policeman said to me ‘your head must be made of cast iron’.

"It’s a miracle only my nose was actually broken. I took a real battering. The strange thing is I don’t remember a bit of it.

"“In fact I don’t really remember the days and weeks leading up to it. When I woke up in hospital I thought maybe I had been sectioned.

“The wound on the back of my head had been attacked by MRSA. It felt shocking.”

Rob - whose brother Craig committed suicide earlier this year - has struggled to deal with the aftermath of the attack.

He said: “I’m glad I don’t remember it. I had thought me and Gregory were friends. I met him just having a few cans down by the seafront. I don’t remember us having dinner, just waking in hospital.

“I’ve lost a lot of my memory and I’ve also lost a bit of confidence: I don’t like to go out alone anymore; luckily I’ve got Bailey.”