‘My attacker walked free after I chased him through the streets’

A STREET seller who was assaulted in Leamington’s busiest street is furious his alleged attacker was let off because of a lack of evidence.

Keith Gregory, 57, of Hampstead in London, was in the Parade on Saturday advertising leather jackets which were being sold at the Travelodge hotel nearby.

As he stood outside H&M at about 3.30pm he was approached by a large man who was with another man and two women.

Mr Gregory said: “He said ‘this is the second time you have insulted me and my wife’ and he headbutted me.

“I had never seen the guy before the attack had happened.

“One of the women he was with kept saying ‘it’s nothing to do with you’ to him.

“I sometimes advertise my jackets as Big Ron’s leather jackets and he was a big guy so maybe his name was Ron.

“He must’ve had a few drinks and thought I was insulting him.”

A group of youngsters stopped to show their concern for Mr Gregory but he was determined to catch up with his attacker.

He followed the man up the Parade and through Tesco into Tavistock Street.

Mr Gregory said: “He decided to scarper when he was outside Tesco so I asked a traffic warden to follow me and he contacted the police on his radio.

“We followed him for about a mile before he stopped running and the police arrived and arrested him.

“But about an hour later they let him go because there was not enough evidence.

“In this day and age I don’t believe there is a perfect crime because wherever you go there are cameras.

“There were enough witnesses who could come forward. So many other people came up to me to see if I was all right.”

Mr Gregory was unaware of the extent of his injuries until he checked in at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead on Sunday where it was confirmed his nose was broken and he had sustained nerve damage to his left eye.

The victim has said he will cancel plans to open a shop in the town centre, which would have employed 36 people.

PC Pervinder Mann, of the Leamington town centre Safer Neighbourhood Team, said the arrest was made at the junction of Lillington Avenue and Kenilworth Road on Saturday afternoon and confirmed the reason the man was released without charge was because of a lack of evidence.