A good samaritan who gave up his job to care for his sick wife said his life “went 180” overnight when he was attacked at random by a drunken thug.

Alan Howard, now 59, was walking home after a drink at The George Hotel last summer when he saw two women looking “tearful”.

But when the father-of-five, who has 12 grandchildren, stopped to make sure they were all right he was attacked by Danny Davis with such force he was unable to move properly for months.

The former builder said: “I normally get a cab home but that night I thought I would walk. I saw the girls in North Street looking tearful and upset.

“I cracked my head on the concrete and banged my side on a bench. My life went 180 in one night. I went out on that Saturday and ended up in hospital” - Mr Howard

"I turned to look at them to say: ‘Are you OK?’ There were two guys arguing in the middle of the road and the next thing I was pushed to the ground. I didn’t even see him, I didn’t see it coming.

“I cracked my head on the concrete and banged my side on a bench. My life went 180 in one night. I went out on that Saturday and ended up in hospital.”

Mr Howard spent a month in hospital after suffering three broken ribs.

He had to sleep sitting up for a further week due to a punctured lung but struggled to drop off, admitting: “I’d never been in so much pain. It went on for months, I thought I was never going to get better.

"I had all the housework to do, and the garden, and I wasn’t doing anything for about a month.”

But selfless Mr Howard’s biggest concern wasn’t his own injuries, it was his wife Jackeline who has suffered from multiple sclerosis since she was in her late twenties and has relied on him as her carer for 25 years.

He continued: “I used to get up, sort her out, then she could drive around in her wheelchair while I went to work. But she can’t do that now. About a year ago I decided to pass the business onto my boys.

“I thought something like that would never happen to me. It’s not going to stop me going out but you do keep looking over your shoulder” - Mr Howard

“Jackeline didn’t come to the hospital.

“I didn’t want her to see me like that but she couldn’t have got out of the house anyway.”

Mr and Mrs Howard received extra assistance from social services while he was injured and their daughter Nicole helped out.

Granddaughter Sophie stayed with Mrs Howard the night her husband was attacked.

Alan Howard Paving has now been shared between sons Sean, who has Howard’s Driveways and Patios, and Simon, owner of S Howard Paving.

Mr Howard said he has not been put off going into Ashford town centre at night by the attack but was surprised it happened to him.

“I thought I was pretty streetwise,” he said.

“I thought something like that would never happen to me. It’s not going to stop me going out but you do keep looking over your shoulder.”

Asked what he thought of Davis’ 32-month sentence, Mr Howard, who is now fully mobile again, said: “What is a good sentence? He could have killed me at the end of the day but what more would he have got for that? I don’t know.

“He’ll probably serve 18 months. That doesn’t sound like much but 18 months somewhere you don’t want to be seems like a long time.

“I’m glad he admitted what he did so I didn’t have to go to court.”

What do you think?