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A man has described how he thought he would be killed by a gang of teenagers who broke his arm and smashed rocks into his head after ambushing him on a cycle path in Bristol.

The terrifying ordeal only ended when he stumbled onto the Avon Ring Road dual carriageway and stopped passing traffic.

Motorists stopped their cars and jumped out to stop the attack and chase the gang of teenagers away, during the shocking incident which happened on May 5.

The man, who is too afraid of reprisals to publicly reveal his surname, was walking home from a lunchtime trip to Asda in Longwell Green, when the attack happened.

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He ended up having 19 stitches in a deep head wound after one of the rocks thrown left him with a deep head wound.

It was bleeding so much that witnesses described a trail of blood from the cycle path next to the ring road onto the road itself as Keith tried desperately to get away from the mob.

He was taken back to Asda by the shocked passers-by, and then taken to Southmead Hospital, where he has been treated for a broken arm, the head wound, a fractured wrist and other cuts and bruises.

Police confirmed the attack, and said they had spoken to a number of witnesses who stopped to help on the A4174 ring road, as well as the victim himself.

Two teenagers were arrested on Sunday evening and inquiries are ongoing.

(Image: Copyright goes here (Bristol Pos)

Keith said the attack started as he approached a large group of youths on the path which runs between the back of New Look on the Gallagher Retail Park and the Kingsfield Roundabout on the dual carriageway at the junction for Asda and the Longwell Green leisure centre.

“They were all across the path, so I said ‘excuse me’ to get past, and one just turned and spat at me - it landed on my neck,” he said.

There then followed a sustained attack as he was pelted with rocks and half-bricks.

“They had obviously been waiting there with that stuff. There were younger ones there who were running off to get more and the older ones were chucking them.

“I started trying to get away, but they were raining down on me, hitting my back. So I decided to turn and face them and try to dodge the rocks as they were thrown at me.

(Image: Copyright goes here (Bristol Pos)

“I think I’d be dead now if I hadn’t done that, and the policeman who first talked to me afterwards said that at least I was able to defend myself from the rocks as they came.

“I was trying to get away but I wanted to leave there with my bike and with my shopping.

“I went over my bike, hit the floor. I was knocked out a couple of times, it went on for ages.

"I couldn’t get away, but eventually I one of them landed on my head and I can only describe it as a power-shower of blood

“I think that shocked even the lads throwing the rocks, and that gave me the chance to get down off the path and onto the road.

“I decided that the only way to save myself and for this to stop would be to get people driving past to have to stop.

"I sat down in the road, head streaming with blood. I had to leave my bike, my shopping, my wallet and phone came out as I fell over and even my false teeth.

"But people stopped their cars. A couple of them got out and chased the kids away and others took me back to Asda,” he added.

The 58-year-old was taken back to Asda by some Good Samaritans, who stayed on to give police their details.

"As I was waiting for the ambulance to come I could see a couple of the kids on their bikes circling the car park checking out what was going on.

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"In all there was between about 12 and 17 of them, a couple would’ve been 17, others 16 and the rest younger, maybe 14 or 15,” he said.

Police took his blood-stained clothes as evidence, while Keith underwent scans for brain damage and a broken skull, had his broken arm put in plaster and his scalp stitched back together.

“Looking back now it was shocking that it was in broad daylight, on a Sunday afternoon. There were lots of people about, mums with buggies and so on. No one could do anything,” he added.

(Image: Copyright goes here (Bristol Pos)

A police spokesman said: “We are investigating this attack, which took place on a path near to Craven Way and Asda in Longwell Green at around 2pm on Sunday, May 5.

"Two teenage boys were arrested on Sunday evening and released the same day, and inquiries are ongoing.

"We had a number of calls from eyewitnesses about this attack, and from people who stopped to intervene."