Blackburn man has facial surgery after unprovoked bottle attack (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Blackburn man has facial surgery after unprovoked bottle attack

1:05pm Friday 23rd November 2012 in Blackburn By Vanessa Cornall, Crime reporter

A DAD-TO-BE has spoken of the moment he was smashed in the face with a glass bottle during a night out.

Liam Golden, 24, was waiting for his takeaway at Caesar Pizza House, in Northgate, Blackburn when he became the target of an unprovoked attack.

The upholsterer, who works at Icon Designs, St Ives Road, needed emergency surgery after the impact shattered his left eye socket, and broke his cheek bone in four places.

Speaking from his hospital bed, Mr Golden said: “Me and my mates stopped at the takeaway on the way home.

“My order was taking longer, so I told them to head towards the taxi rank on Darwen Street, and that I would catch up.

“Out of nowhere I heard my cousin Aidan shout ‘watch out’. I spun round and the next thing I knew I was being confronted by three lads and hit in the face with a Smirnoff Ice bottle.

“I had no idea they were going to do that. I thought they were walking behind me to go in the chippy.”

Detectives investigating the 2am incident said they believed Mr Golden was an innocent bystander, who had been attacked while minding his own business.

Mr Golden, of Mercer Street, Great Harwood, has since had to undergo two operations, and is facing the prospect of a third.

He said: “It makes me sick to think there are people going out trying to get into fights like this. It is cowardly.

“After it happened my mates picked me up and put me in a taxi.

“That night I barely slept because of the pain, so I knew I had to go for medical attention.”

Doctors at the Royal Blackburn Hospital discovered Mr Golden needed surgery on his facial breaks, but his first operation was unsuccessful.

Yesterday, Mr Golden, who is exp-ecting a baby with girlfriend Cherish Duckworth, underwent a second operation to fit metal plates in his face.

But doctors have warned him he could face a third operation if his face continues to sink.

He said: “These lads need to be stopped before this happens again. I have had to take so much time off from work, I am worried they won’t keep me on.”

The incident took place on November 3.

DI Mark Vaughton, of Blackburn CID, said: “We believe the victim was an innocent bystander in the incident.

“There must have been people close to the takeaway that night who saw what happened and I urge them to come forward and talk to police.”

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