by Mary Louis

A brutal iron bar attack on "an innocent and harmless" Deal man has outraged his community and left friends and colleagues in tears.

Shaun Turnbull, 46, the "trolley man" at Sainsbury’s in West Street,

was savagely attacked by robbers on Thursday at 7.20pm.

He was walking home from work along Church Path when he was attacked by two men demanding money.

When he told them he did not have any, he was hit around the head with what he describes as an iron bar.

The vicious assault left Mr Turnbull with a fractured right cheekbone, cuts to his left eye, bumps to the back of his head and concussion.

His eye area has needed stitching and he needs an operation to his cheekbone.

The attackers are both described as white males, aged about 18, with dark hair.

Police have been in the area today carrying out house-to-house enquiries.

Det Sgt Sheena Barrell said: "We are appealing for anyone who was in the area last night to contact us.

"We would particularly like to speak to a woman out walking her small brown dog who walked past the victim in Church Path moments before the incident took place, as she may have vital information that could help with our investigation.

"This was a very nasty and completely unprovoked attack on a man who was simply walking home after a day’s work, and we are determined to find the two offenders."

Despite the severity of the assault, Mr Turnbull made his own way to Deal hospital, where he reported the incident to staff who alerted police.

He was transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Queen Mother Hospital in Margate.

The call for information is echoing widely throughout the closeknit community where he is a popular and well loved figure.

Friends and acquaintances are using Facebook, urging witnesses to come forward.

It is believed Mr Turnbull has worked for Sainsbury’s since the superstore opened more than 13 years ago.

A colleague said: "We are all devastated. There have been about 10 members of our team in tears today because of what has happened. None of us can believe it. We are all really shocked.

"There is no reason at all why Shaun should be attacked, he is a really nice guy. Everyone knows him as 'the trolley boy’ at Sainsbury’s. The customers love him, he would do anything for anybody. This is a disgusting assault."

Comments about the attack on Facebook today include:

• "An innocent and harmless man was brutally attacked yesterday by what can only be described as low life SCUM. Shaun, the trolley man from Sainsburys, was badly beaten about the head with a metal bar by two men for no apparent reason. He made his way to Deal hospital by crawling there and was then rushed to Margate hospital, where he is apparently not in a good way.Please if anyone has any information do not hesitate to contact the police. These low life scum need to be caught. Deal is looking out for you Shaun..... you’re one in a million and always make going to Sainsbury’s a pleasant experience, with a smile and a hello for everyone. May your recovery be a fast one as I for one look forward to seeing you back at work."

• "Hoping that everyone will keep their eyes peeled and their ears open for any info on the spineless cowards that attacked Shaun! The police are doing all they can but with such a wide network between us all on Facebook somebody will hear or see something that may help. "If you know anything please contact police ASAP and lets get together to put this scum behind bars. Keep 'em peeled."

Anyone with information can contact Kent Police on 101 or Kent Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 quoting crime number ZY/2609/12.