[14 NOV 00] CRIMES, FIRES & ACCIDENTS
Slashing Victim Appeals For Witnesses

A Good Samaritan student who suffered horrific injuries when he was slashed in the face with a bottle has appealed for witnesses to come forward to help catch his attackers.

Oliver Foulkes, aged 19, needed 50 stitches after being cut in the face with bottle as he walked down a Hillfields street on his way home from The Planet nightclub last month.

He was set upon after helping the victim of an attack by a gang of up to 30 youths in Raglan Street on 8 October at 2.15am.

The second year Business IT student at Coventry University saw the person being pushed to the ground and kicked and hit and went with his friends to help them after the attack.

He called an ambulance and made sure the victim was reunited with his friends before continuing his journey home.

Minutes later he was confronted and hit on the side of the head with a bottle.

The cut to his cheek has left him permanently scarred, and he suffered a multitude of other lacerations as the bottle shattered on his head.

Mr Foulkes has come forward to try and persuade people in the area to come forward with any recollections of the attack.

He said:

“I got hit with a bottle from the side by someone. It was just a shock. One minute I was walking home, the next minute I was in hospital.

“I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I lived in Coventry last year and didn’t have any problems.”

He added that the incident shook him at first, but he has resolved to carry on with his life as normal.

He said:

”I just want justice for these people.”

DC Paul Reeve said CCTV footage covering the area had been studied. The person who attacked Mr Foulkes is believed to have been at the scene of the first attack.

But despite around 100 people being in the area at the time, no-one has come forward to give a statement.

DC Reeve said:

”This wass a vicious and unprovoked attack upon a young man who came to the aid of a stranger who had been assaulted.

”As a result Mr Foulkes has been permanently scarred and I would ask anyone with information about this to come forward.”

The attacker is a white male, in his late teens, 5ft 7ins, thin build with short black hair brushed forward. He was clean shaven has a local accent and wore a dream and light brown shirt with a dark stripe on each arm, a blue shirt and black trousers.

Witnesses should ring DC Reeve on 024 7653 9082 or call the Crimestoppers hotline on 0800 555111. All calls will be treated in confidence.