James Costello has no memory of being viciously mugged while riding his bike home after a night out.

Mr Costello, 38, can only remember waking up the next morning in a hospital bed with a fractured cheek bone, a black eye and bruised ribs.

The dad of two, who lives in Witney and is an engineer with Infopoint, in Ferry Hinksey Road, Oxford, told the Oxford Mail how the brutal attack had affected his family.

He said: "My girl, Caoimhe, who is only eight, couldn't bear to go to sleep - she was frightened about what happened.

"And my son Brendan, who's just five, says he can't bear to look at my face because of the injuries." Mr Costello can only remember going out on Saturday evening to join friends at the Red Lion pub in Eynsham where he had about four or five pints of beer before catching the bus to Witney. He picked up his bike at the Corn Street bus garage and was cycling home at about 10.30pm.

He said: "I can't remember anything after that. We've since found the bike in Deer Park Road, round the corner from where I live, so that's where they must have come out on me."

Police are linking the attack to another mugging on Saturday night a few hundred yards away in Burford Road. They hope a £20 Irish note stolen from Mr Costello may lead them to his attackers - it can only be exchanged at a bank.

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