A CHEF said he feared for his life after being subjected to a "vicious unprovoked assault" as he walked home from work.

Michael Lucas suffers from a painful, rare condition and said the agony after a blow to the side of his face was so severe that he felt it could have killed him.

The 43-year-old was dragged to the floor, before being punched and kicked by two men in Spring Hill Road, Accrington, at 10.40pm on Monday.

The married father-of-three was walking alone after leaving his job at the Dunkenhalgh Hotel, Clayton-le-Moors.

He suffers from a severe form of trigeminal neuralgia, which causes sudden, intense pain in his face.

The banquet chef said: "It was an absolutely terrifying experience and I have been very lucky not to have been more seriously hurt. When I was first hit, I feared for the worst."

Police said Mr Lucas was attacked from behind after passing two men who were arguing.

As he got close to them he was suddenly attacked.

He added: "I was hit with a blunt object in the back of the head and then, as I fell, I was punched and kicked.

"I think I must have blacked out because the next thing I knew the men had run off."

Mr Lucas then stumbled to his nearby home and his family called an ambulance.

DC Mark Cruise said: "We are treating it as an unprovoked attack.

"A woman was driving alone in the road in a small red car at the time and may hold vital information."