It was Josh Jones's childhood dream to play cricket for England but his hopes were cruelly ended after he was assaulted on a night out in Canterbury.

The promising player who had been a member of Taradale Cricket Club, Napier, New Zealand, had been handpicked by Walmer Cricket Club after a trawl of international youth talent.

He arrived in Deal and stayed at the Telegraph Road home of Rob McAlister, his wife Dianne and their four children.

At the time Rob was captain of the second team at the Court Road club.

"Josh fitted in well with our family. He was quiet, polite and mild-mannered, " Rob recalls.

"He was an assest to Walmer Cricket Club's first team and had been playing extremely well."

But all that changed after a night out in Canterbury city centre, when Josh, 25, had been enjoying a post-match celebration with his Walmer team-mates.

It was May 2016, just a month after his arrival in the UK when the young cricketer was assaulted as he left Club Chemistry.

He says he has no memory of the attack that left him unconscious. "The first thing I remember afterwards was my clothes being cut off me in hospital and spewing a stomach full of swallowed blood.

"The first time I looked in the mirror after the attack I couldn’t even recognise myself," Josh said.

He spent a week at the William Harvey hospital in Ashford where he had titanium plates fitted to repair facial fractures he had sustained.

A month later Josh was forced to fly back home to New Zealand with his Walmer playing career in tatters and unable to take up a job to support himself.

Now he has learnt through the cricket club that the trial against him has collapsed and he says it is "absolutely devastating", not least because he is still to be informed in an official capacity of the decision.

Josh said he has faced a daily mental and physical battle since the assault.

"I still have a constant weeping eye that regularly becomes infected and costs a trip to the doctors each time. My top lip's still numb and my front teeth tight.

"Every time I look in the mirror I see the scar from the two titanium plates that had to be surgically inserted. This obviously reminds me of the assault every time. There’s no escaping it."

He said:. "I had a childhood dream to play cricket in England. Unfortunately due to the assault this was no longer possible as the amount of money [the assault] cost me and I lost I could no longer support myself and had to return to New Zealand.

"So to come away with no compensation whatsoever and most of all no justice is pretty hard to swallow."

Josh who now works as a carpenter, added: "I honestly do not know how this can be the outcome after everything, it now feels like I’ve been strung along for nearly two years.

"For now I am left with no justice."

"I know I don’t live in the UK any more, I realise I was a foreigner but it still happened. I’m still human you don’t just forget about these things when you return home."

Rob McAlister spoke of the aftermath of the attack and said: "It was unbelievable when I was told Josh had been admitted to Ashford hospital.

"I was so shocked when I saw his swollen face. He didn't really know what was going on as he'd had so much morphine.

"Every time I look in the mirror I see the scar from the two titanium plates that had to be surgically inserted. This obviously reminds me of the assault every time. There’s no escaping it" - Josh Jones

"Josh's Dad flew over from New Zealand to be with him."

He added: "It should have been a great night out with his cricket mates for Josh but I'm so embarrassed about what happened to him as a visitor to our country.

"Now I'm absolutely shocked, I'm dumbfounded, as to why nothing is going to be done about it"

Our interview with Josh follows the acquittal of two Whitstable men accused of causing serious harm to the cricketer.

The 21 year olds were expected to go on trial at Canterbury Crown Court.

But three times the trial of William Goldsmith, of Cromwell Road and Toby Wood, of Clapham Hill was delayed because of court difficulties – even though one witness had flown from his home in Dubai to give evidence.

Now prosecutor Patrick Dennis has told a judge at Canterbury Crown Court that the CPS had decided to offer no evidence against the men, who have always denied the assault.

Last week, Judge James O’Mahony ordered senior lawyers to re-examine their decision to halt the prosecution.

But Mr Dennis explained that the witness, who had made the fruitless 8,000 mile round trip from his home to Kent, was now no longer willing to co-operate with the prosecution.

He said there was no longer any realistic prospect of a conviction and the CPS could not force the witness to attend from Dubai.

The judge was told that Mr Jones had returned to New Zealand and could remember nothing of the incident.

He was not expected to be called as a witness.

Mr Dennis said the case had been “taken very seriously” but the witness was left “feeling very angry” because the trial had not gone ahead last year.

Judge O’Mahony said: “I do think about that man in New Zealand but I accept this case has received careful consideration.”

He then reordered judicial verdicts of not guilty against both men, who were not in court to hear the judgement.