Peterborough mobility scooter man and dog attacked
A man in a mobility scooter was seriously injured when he and his deaf dog were attacked on a towpath.
Richard Sandon, 52 and an RAF veteran, suffered a broken arm, fractured ribs and bruised kidneys in the attack near the River Nene in Peterborough.
Police said he was the victim of an "unprovoked attack", on Friday evening, when the man tripped over his dog's lead. His dog was kicked but not hurt.
The attacker was described as a 6ft 2in black man wearing a khaki jacket.
Mr Sandon said he had been trying to pull Blue, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, to one side of the towpath to allow the man to pass when he tripped over the lead.
'Vicious and cowardly'
He apologised but the man responded by punching him in the face, knocking him out of his scooter, and punching and stamping on him on the ground. He also kicked the dog, police said.
Mr Sandon was treated for a broken arm, fractured ribs, bruised kidneys and has various bruises around his face and body and remains in hospital.
"I cannot understand what sort of person would attack me and my dog Blue in this way. I am a disabled man who is obviously unable to defend myself," Mr Sandon said.
"Blue is deaf and wears a high-visibility coat which states this. Neither of us were a threat to this man."
Police described the attack, which happened at about 19:30 GMT near the bridge at Railworld, as "vicious and cowardly".
"It was an appalling and unprovoked assault on a victim who couldn't defend himself."
Officers are looking for a man described as black, slim, about 6ft 2in (1.88m), in his late 20s or early 30s.
He was wearing a khaki jacket, jeans, white boot-type trainers and a peaked black beanie hat with a red, yellow and green band around it.