A QUANTITY surveyor was left blind and severely disabled after he was knocked to the ground by a single punch.

Brian Hogan went home to bed and fell asleep after being hit – but by the following morning he was unconscious.

Doctors discovered he had suffered bruising and bleeding to his brain and a skull fracture from the fall.

He was in intensive care and there were fears he would not survive.

Six months on, Mr Hogan is being cared for at Linden Lodge Neuro Rehabilitation Unit at Nottingham City Hospital.

His father said his son was reliant on nursing staff but still had the ability to cry "giant tears from eyes that can't see anymore".

Mr Hogan's attacker, Martin Slack, is starting a jail sentence of two years and three months after he admitted causing grievous bodily harm to 33-year-old Mr Hogan.

Nottingham Crown Court heard Mr Hogan had been to @d2 club in Lower Parliament Street in the city centre with friends.

They were heading back to Mr Hogan's when Slack asked if he could join them. Mr Hogan, who did not know Slack, checked with his group.

One said "no", which appeared to be the catalyst for what happened next.

Slack, who had drunk nine to 10 pints, pushed and pulled Mr Hogan before he punched him hard to the face.

"It's clear he was unable to break his fall and fell backwards hard on to the pavement," said Laura Dawes, prosecuting.

One of the group jumped between the defendant and Mr Hogan. He asked Slack why he had done it, to which he replied, "he was rude to me".

Mr Hogan was unconscious for two minutes.

He was treated at the scene by paramedics but declined an offer to go to hospital, believing the injuries were cuts and bruises.

"The victim, to all intents and purposes, was walking around and talking normally," added Miss Dawes.

"At that stage the victim was not reporting any pain, dizziness or nausea."

Slack, 34, of Charles Street, Leabrooks, Alfreton, Derbyshire, was arrested and identified by witnesses.

He wiped away tears as the court was told how Mr Hogan had made a statement from his hospital bed for the judge.

In it Mr Hogan said Slack should be made to realise that "you don't solve problems by violence or by hitting people".

"I would like him to be punished to learn from his mistakes," he said.

Mr Justice David Clarke said the offence carried a maximum five-year prison sentence after a contested trial.

The single punch had not been delivered with any intent to do really serious injury.

"No one present thought it would do really serious injury. But it caused Mr Hogan to fall to the ground and to bang his head on the pavement."

He also said Mr Hogan had cognitive difficulties, but his intellectual capacity was essentially preserved.

After the hearing, Detective Sergeant Justine Wilson said: "This incident shows how one reckless and violent act can have the most devastating consequences on a life."

rebecca.sherdley@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk