Dad Luke Bingham, 23, from Ashford hospitalised after late night attack
Published: 11:43, 30 May 2019
Updated: 14:51, 30 May 2019
A man says his life has been "turned upside down" after he was brutally attacked in the middle of the night.
Dad-of-one Luke Bingham, 23, was left covered in blood and with a broken nose and fractured eye socket following the assault overnight on Tuesday.
He was rushed to hospital and spent five hours at A&E, where he had X-rays to determine the damage caused to his face.
WARNING: Graphic images below
And while the chef has been left sore and bruised, he says the attack has also affected his mental health.
He said: "I feel pretty shaken up.
"I feel scared to leave the house, I haven't been to work.
"I have a child who I need to protect and this has affected me.
"My whole life has been turned upside down."
Luke, from Willesborough in Ashford, was staying overnight at the house of a girl he was seeing in the village of Aldington.
At around midnight they heard banging on the front door and ignored it at first.
But Luke says the banging on the door continued before attempts were made by the girl to speak to the visitor through the letterbox.
The next thing he heard was someone running up the stairs.
He quickly got out of bed in time before a man ran at him, throwing punches.
He said: "I think she must have opened the door to try and talk and he barged past.
"I heard running up the stairs. I got out of bed and he came in and started attacking me.
"He tried punching me three or four times. I tried to tackle him and defend myself and he pushed my head down and kneed me in the face.
"He also bit my finger."
Luke fled the house and knocked on a neighbour's door to ask for help.
The neighbour called 999 and police and paramedics attended the scene.
The attacker is understood to have left the area before emergency services arrived.
Luke - who says he had never met his attacker before - was taken to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford and spent the rest of the night at A&E.
He was treated for a broken nose and fractured eye socket.
He is now recovering but has not yet been able to return to work.
Kent Police confirmed an investigation has been launched but said no one has yet been arrested in connection with the attack.
A spokesman for the force said: "Kent Police is investigating after two people were assaulted in Aldington.
"Officers were called to a report of a disturbance at a private address in Wheatfields at 12.07am on Wednesday, May 29.
"It was reported a man and a woman were assaulted, resulting in the man being taken to a local hospital for treatment.
"Inquiries are ongoing."
Luke added: "I want him caught. He's a dangerous and violent suspect."
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Sam Williams