A father-of-two who suffered horrific facial injuries after he was beaten up by students has been told the case has been dropped – because of “insufficient evidence”.
Family man Gary Walden, 40, was knocked to the ground and savagely punched and kicked in an unprovoked attack.
Garry, of Broadclyst near Exeter, Devon, says he was assaulted when he ticked a group of students off for urinating in the street.
The drunken assault left him with a fractured cheekbone and cuts and bruises to his head, face and hands.
But despite his sickening injuries and the subsequent arrest of all five alleged attackers, stunned Gary has now been told the case has been dropped – because there is not enough evidence to prosecute.
Gray has posted a picture of his injuries on Facebook and the shocking image has been re-posted by more than 8,000 sympathetic users.
He said: “I cannot believe there is “no evidence” – the evidence is all over my face, plus they had blood splattered on their shoes.
“When I was told the charges had been dropped it felt like I had been kicked again.
“I was really disappointed and wondered why I even bothered reporting it – they will just do the same thing again.”
Gary remembers little of the attack but woke up in an ambulance en route to hospital, where he spent two days recovering.
Police arrested the attackers – allegedly students at top-ranked Exeter University – and he was able to identify all five.
But Gary added: “The police wanted me to pinpoint exactly which one of them hit me first. But there was no way I could, they all hit me – I didn’t stop and ask for names.”
Devon and Cornwall Police say the decision to drop the case was taken by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
A spokesman said: “There was a very thorough investigation. Five suspects were arrested in connection with the incident and a full file was submitted to the CPS who make charging decisions.
“They decided the evidence available was insufficient evidence to charge.”
