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Attack victim blinded in one eye | |
(about 8 hours later) | |
A teenager has described how he was blinded in one eye during an attack by two men in Edinburgh. | |
Edward Watt, 19, was left with his "eye spilling out of its socket" after the attack in the Oxgangs area at about 2330 GMT on Friday. | |
He was attacked in a grass area leading from Pentland Drive to Oxgangs Bank after an unleashed dog ran towards him. | |
His friends attempted to kick the dog away before its owner argued with them and hit Mr Watt with a metal lead. | |
The attacker ran off before coming back with a second man who had a baseball bat and they continued to hit the teenage labourer while he lay unconscious on the ground. | |
The eye specialist said it was the worst he had seen Edward Watt | |
The former Firrhill High School pupil said: "I was in a lot of pain when I woke up, and I was confused, I didn't know what was going on. | |
"The eye specialist said it was the worst he had seen. They tried to save the eye so I don't have to wear a prosthetic. | |
"It's still weeping fluid now and there's a stitch in my eyeball. I've also got a staple in my head from when they hit me with the bat." | |
His mother Shirley Watt, 41, had to leave her daughters Jessica, three, and Bethany, one, with father Steve, and rushed to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary to find her son had been blinded in one eye. | |
She said: "They'd almost halved his eyeball in two, that's the best way to describe it. | |
"The contents of his eye were coming out, hanging out, I'll never forget that. | |
"To get a phone call at 1am in the morning saying your son is seriously ill is not a good feeling. | |
"I feel horrified, devastated, angry and frustrated." | |
'Appalling act ' | 'Appalling act ' |
Mr Watt, who works for Balfour Beatty on the National Museum of Scotland refurbishment, had an emergency operation early on Saturday morning. | |
A Lothian and Borders Police spokesman said: "This is an appalling act of violence that has left the victim with a serious and permanent injury and disfigurement. | A Lothian and Borders Police spokesman said: "This is an appalling act of violence that has left the victim with a serious and permanent injury and disfigurement. |
"We are keen to speak to anyone who can assist with our enquiries and ask that anyone who recognises the descriptions of the suspects and can help us locate them contacts police immediately." | "We are keen to speak to anyone who can assist with our enquiries and ask that anyone who recognises the descriptions of the suspects and can help us locate them contacts police immediately." |
The first attacker is white, about 30 years old, 5ft 8ins and with a large build. | |
He was wearing a beanie hat and a light-coloured sweater and was carrying a metal dog chain. | He was wearing a beanie hat and a light-coloured sweater and was carrying a metal dog chain. |
The second attacker is white, aged between 35 and 40, 5ft 9ins and of large build. He was wearing a dark-coloured T-shirt. | The second attacker is white, aged between 35 and 40, 5ft 9ins and of large build. He was wearing a dark-coloured T-shirt. |
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