Bricks and a broomstick were used to beat an accountant who remonstrated with two men he saw throwing stones outside his Oxford home.

Munir Shafi, 39, suffered a broken jaw and is unable to eat solid food after the attack in Belvedere Road, east Oxford.

He went to the aid of his brother-in-law, Zaheer Qureshi, who was attacked after confronting two men who had been throwing stones at each other and had hit his Nissan Micra and Mr Shafi's Mercedes.

One man charged at Mr Shafi with a brick in his hand. He tried to dodge the attack, but slipped and was hit on the head several times with the brick and a broom handle.

Father-of-three Mr Shafi said: "I thought I was going to die when he hit me on the head. I count myself lucky to be alive."

He suffered a broken jaw, a gash to his chin which required 12 stitches and wounds to the top of his head.

Mr Qureshi, who also lives in the street, was about to set off on his motorbike when he saw the two men throwing stones at each other, and one of them hit a Volkswagen Polo parked in the road.

The men then picked up more stones from his drive and threw them at his car.

He fetched a broom to sweep up the stones and then challenged the men.

"I said to them: 'You're not children'," Mr Qureshi said.

"One of them came very close to me and said: 'Speak in English', and then he started laughing at me. I said: 'I'm not speaking French'.

"He grabbed me by the shirt and started throwing punches."

Mr Qureshi, 45, tried to defend himself with the broom but the men wrestled it from him. The shorter man hurled a brick at him, breaking a rib.

One of the men made a racist remark to Mr Qureshi's wife, who had come to see what was happening.

Mr Shafi, an accountant for the Oxford Bus Company, added: "The worst thing is my daughter, Zahra, who is 12, saw all of this and so did a lot of other children in the road who were playing outside.

"It was a vicious attack. I'm convinced the smaller man did intend to kill me after he first hit me with the brick. I'm lucky he didn't have a knife on him.

"I have never been in a fight in my life, which is probably why I didn't know what to do.

"I have lived here 14 years and there has not been a sign of trouble -- it's a nice family road."

The attackers were both carrying a can of beer, but did not appear drunk. Mr Shafi said he wanted to emphasise that the taller of the men, who looked like a student, was much less involved. They ran off along Cowley Road.

The attack happened shortly before 4.30pm on June 14. Mr Shafi was taken by ambulance to the John Radcliffe Hospital.

Det Insp Dermot Norridge, of Oxford CID, said: "We need the help of the public to discover who was responsible. Mr Shafi has been brave and stepped forward and made a personal appeal."

The man who threw the brick was in his early 20s, 5ft 6in or 5ft 7in, of muscular build, with dark, short, curly hair. He had a goatee beard, and a tattoo on his arm. He was wearing a blue shirt.

The second man was also in his early 20s, about 5ft 10in to 6ft, overweight, and had fair hair.

Anyone with information should call Oxford police on 01865 266333, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.