A good Samaritan who helped a badly beaten man has told how the injuries were the worst he?d ever seen.

The victim was apparently attacked, along with his brother and a friend, in Fagans Alley, off Front Street by a gang of men who jumped out of a dark SUV in the early hours of Sunday morning. A passerby ? who has asked not to be named ? found the victim and waited with him until an ambulance arrived.

He told : ?I was nearby when the attack actually happened but I did not realise quite how badly until I got there. As I walked towards the area, I saw this kid lying flat out on the sidewalk, unconscious and with blood all over him.

?All I was concerned about at that time was to make sure that, particularly at that time of night, any drunk people who were about were kept well away from him. All the emergency services arrived very quickly and they took him off to hospital and from what I could see there were about 30 police officers on the street.

?I was totally shocked and angry because I don?t come across that sort of thing every day and I have never seen anybody so badly beaten in my life. He was really messed up.

?You just don?t expect that sort of thing in Bermuda ? it was absolutely brutal.?

The victim, from Devonshire, suffered a broken cheekbone, facial bruising and an eye injury and was treated at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

He is now recovering at home. His friend received treatment for minor cuts and bruises but the victim?s brother did not need treatment. All three men are in their early 20s.

A friend of theirs, who also wished to remain anonymous, said: ?All three of them were drunk. They told me that an SUV pulled up alongside them and also a couple of guys on bikes.

?There were around seven or eight people altogether and it was just past the Supermart. One of the brothers was beaten very badly, so badly that his eye was completely closed.

?Apparently the doctor who examined him said he was lucky to be alive. The other brother managed to escape and got the Police. But by the time they got there there was nobody there.?

Police spokesman Robin Simmons confirmed that Police had attended the scene but found no trace of the attackers. He said officers managed to get only a vague description.

He added: ?Both of the victims have decided not to prosecute their assailants.?