A YOUNG dad was beaten in a vicious street attack while walking his eight-week-old daughter.

Christopher Atkinson required emergency surgery after being set upon just yards from his home in Kennington Road, Radford.

The 22-year-old was punched repeatedly in the head by another man, who then ran away and left him bleeding on the floor.

Mr Atkinson, a trainee plumber, was with his girlfriend, Ginny, their young daughter, Robyn, and his 14-year-old sister Lauren, when he was set upon at around 3.45pm on July 1.

He said: "I was pushing the pushchair and this guy came up and attacked me.

He came from the side and at first said 'Hi Chris', and was acting all friendly. I nodded to be polite.

"He then punched me and I fell to the floor. He then jumped on top of me and continued punching me. There was blood everywhere."

Mr Atkinson was able to walk away after the attack and called 999.

An ambulance was not sent out immediately as they were all busy on other call-outs but the operator phoned back 20 minutes later and a friend of Mr Atkinson's who took the call said the family would take him to A&E themselves.

But both Mr Atkinson and his family are unhappy with the treatment he received at the Queen's Medical Centre in the aftermath of the attack.

They are considering whether to lodge a written complaint with the hospital.

"They did a few X-rays and gave me paracetamol and said I was OK to go home," he said.

He returned to the hospital twice the next day after his nose began bleeding again.

"They then found my cheekbone was broken, my nose was broken, and arteries in my nose had been severed," Mr Atkinson said.

He was referred to the hospital's Ear, Nose and Throat department and underwent a four-hour nose operation two days later in order to stop the bleeding.

His mum, Judy Atkinson, said she was angry at the delay in treatment.

"Christopher has been let down by the emergency services," she said.

"The ambulance wouldn't come out and A&E sent him home. He was home all night after the attack and was bleeding. He looked terrible – I thought I was going to lose him."

Ms Atkinson, 51, a cleaner at the University of Nottingham, said: "The bridge of his nose was all shattered and his eyes were swelling up. A doctor told Chris that if he'd stayed at home he could have died due to bleeding."

Mr Atkinson was released from hospital last week but is due back to see if he requires cheekbone surgery.

His brother, Richard Atkinson, of Ash View, Radford, said: "It's absolutely atrocious that this has happened. I'm flabbergasted. He should have been treated straight away."

Demas Esberger, Emergency Department Consultant and Emergency Department Head of Service, said: "Mr Atkinson received appropriate treatment and advice in the Trust's Emergency Department when he attended on July 1 and 2.

"When he attended on the morning of July 2 his notes clearly state that bleeding had stopped. He received reasonable and appropriate care based on this and was given clear instructions that he was to return to the Emergency Department if bleeding restarted. Mr Atkinson did this, and he was referred immediately for surgery."

A spokesperson for East Midlands Ambulance Service said: "At no stage did we refuse to send an ambulance to Mr Atkinson. Using the information provided by Mr Atkinson, it was determined that he did not have a life-threatening injury.

"Because all vehicles in the vicinity were occupied on life-threatening calls, one of our control nurses called back to see if we could provide medical advice over the phone. After being advised that all our vehicles were engaged on emergencies, she said she would accompany Mr Atkinson to hospital and asked us to cancel the ambulance."

Notts Police are investigating the incident.

Anyone with information should call Radford Road CID on 0115 967 0999 ext 4534.

bryan.henesey@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk