A MAN says he thought he was going to die when two intruders forced their way into his home in the middle of the night and attacked him.
Michael Wilkinson, 65, says he was met by a barrage of punches after answering a knock on his door shortly after midnight. His attackers, who wore hoodies and masked their faces with scarves, demanded cash and forced three rings from his fingers.
Mr Wilkinson, who lives alone in a flat in Great Thornton Street, west Hull, says the attack has left him wanting to quit his home of six years.
He said: "I was given a real pasting. I was thinking, 'So this is how it's going to end'."
"I opened my door and punches flew in," he said. "I fell into one of the bedrooms, where I was attacked.
"I was asked where I keep my cash. I told them I don't have money in the house."
Once his attackers had fled with the rings, Mr Wilkinson – covered in blood – crawled on the floor to fetch his mobile phone.
"My face was covered in blood and I could hardly see, but I somehow managed to dial 999 for an ambulance," he said.
He was taken to Hull Royal Infirmary, where he spent two days under observation.
Mr Wilkinson needed stitches to repair gashes in his lip, arm and leg.
He also suffered two black eyes and severe facial swelling.
"I was too sore to go home after the first night, so I was kept in another night," said Mr Wilkinson.
Two of the rings stolen in the raid belonged to his mother and father, while the third was a gift from a friend.
"They have a lot of sentimental value to me," said Mr Wilkinson, who says he no longer feels safe in his own home.
"I am really upset that this could have happened in my own home.
"I don't feel safe here anymore. I don't want to stay here anymore.
"I am upset I was attacked. There was no need for them for have attacked me.
"They could have took what they wanted and gone."
Mr Wilkinson has been told it is likely to take some time before his injuries fully heal.
"At the moment, it's very hard to eat and drink because of the stitches in my lip," he said. "It makes it very difficult."
A Humberside Police spokesman confirmed a man has been arrested and charged with robbery and assault and is currently in custody.
Anyone with information about the attack should call police on the non-emergency number 101.
