Dad’s shocking injuries after head was ‘cracked open like an Easter egg’ when gang of 10 thugs smashed metal pole into his skull – missing brain by just THREE centimetres

A GANG of 10 teen louts “no older than 14" cracked a dad’s head open "like an Easter egg” by ramming him in the head with a bike seat pole – fracturing his skull in the process.

Chris Shields, 39, had to undergo emergency surgery after the vicious gang “laid into him” in Runcorn, Cheshire, last Thursday.

The dad had been riding his bike to the shops when he claims around 10 youths “came at him”, his distraught mum, Barbara Chamberlain, says.

Cheshire Police are now on the hunt for the louts after a row between Chris and the teens “became violent”, culminating in the metal pole being smashed through the 39-year-old’s skull just three centimetres from his brain.

Chunks of metal from the pole had to be removed from inside the dad’s head, and his skull had to be realigned after his brain swelled up.

His devastated mum Barbara said: "The doctors have said he's extremely lucky to be alive – the injury was only three centimetres from his brain, it could have killed him. He could have died.

"He had a fractured skull, it was a depressed fracture.

"The way I can describe it is that it's as if it was a cracked Easter egg, or like a dent in a car.

"He was there making banter in spite of the injuries, that's the kind of person he is.”

Chris, who has a 14-year-old daughter, says he had started receiving verbal abuse from the gang of 10 before they brutally set upon him.

Barbara said: "They started to give him verbal abuse, he didn't want to get into anything with them.

"The abuse escalated, they started to come towards him and he threw his bike in self-defence.

"He could see there was a youth with a bike who started removing the seat from the bike, and he started to run away but fell over into some bushes.

"They all laid into him, and he was stabbed in the head with the bike seat pole.

"They were no older than about 14."

Speaking after his release from hospital, Chris said: "I feel worse now I've come out of hospital.

"I can't think straight, I just feel a total mess. It's not good. I feel like I'm really slowing down.

"Words can't describe it, the feeling of paranoia, I'm scared and upset."

DI Clare Coleman, from Runcorn CID, said: "This was a serious assault by a number of attackers which has left a man hospitalised.

"The offenders have been described as teenagers, and I would urge anyone who saw a large group in the area around the time of the offence to contact police so we can find those responsible.

"This type of violence is unacceptable and will not be tolerated."

Inspector Mike Skillen said: "We have a dispersal zone in place and will be patrolling the area to provide reassurance.

"I would ask parents to help us by keeping tabs on their children's whereabouts, and that if you have any concerns about this incident to contact police."

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