EXCLUSIVEBy Patrick LowmanA ROAD rage victim has relived the terrifying moment when he was attacked by a lorry driver in an unprovoked assault.Michael Wright, 54, was left with severe facial injuries and needing hospital treatment after being punched in the face by the lorry driver in broad daylight.

EXCLUSIVE

By Patrick Lowman

A ROAD rage victim has relived the terrifying moment when he was attacked by a lorry driver in an unprovoked assault.

Michael Wright, 54, was left with severe facial injuries and needing hospital treatment after being punched in the face by the lorry driver in broad daylight.

A shaken Mr Wright, from Sudbury, branded his assailant “an animal” and said he must be caught and punished.

Mr Wright had just parked his Nissan Micra car in King Street in Sudbury town centre, when a lorry carrying scaffolding backed into the space in front of him.

As he walked pass the lorry, Mr Wright claimed he told the driver to be careful because he had just backed into the bumper of his Nissan Micra.

“I wasn't worried about the damage because it was just a scratch. I just told him to be careful and then started to walk off,” he recalled yesterday.

“By the time I got a few yards he jumped out of his cab and came charging towards me. I didn't say a word and he just walloped me in the face.

“It buckled the glasses I was wearing and my face was bleeding heavily. It was a very frightening attack and I was very shaken up.”

After the attack, staff at nearby shop looked after Mr Wright and called the police and the paramedics. He was later taken to the West Suffolk Hospital, Bury St Edmunds, by his wife Diane, 59.

Mr Wright spent several hours at the hospital where he underwent x-rays and had butterfly stitches applied to a cut to his face.

Although Mr Wright suffered no broken bones, he has been left with a severely swollen and cut eye.

He moved to Suffolk two years ago from London and said he could not believe an attack of this nature could happen in broad daylight in a quiet country town.

“I moved from the Isle of Dogs for a quiet life in the country, I never thought something like this would happen here,” said Mr Wright.

“I am still very shaken up and I am apprehensive in case I bump into him again. It was an unprovoked attack and I just can't understand why it happened.

“This man was very muscular and well-built and he acted like an animal. He needs to be caught and punished.”

Suffolk police said they had launched an investigation into the attack, which happened on Monday morning.

A spokesman said: “We received a report that a 54-year-old man was punched in the face before the assailant got back in his vehicle and drove off.

“We have a good description of the alleged offender and we are actively trying to trace him.”

The assault happened just after 10am and the lorry driver was described as a white man, between 5ft 8in and 5ft 10in tall, of stocky build and with short, greying hair.

Anyone with information should contact Suffolk police of 01473 613500.

patrick.lowman@eadt.co.uk