Man jailed after attack which left Derbyshire grounds worker without half his skull

ITV News Central Correspondent Peter Bearne reports from outside Derby Crown Court

A man who lost half his skull in a vicious assault has said he is happy to see his attacker put behind bars.

Braden Stromberg had just finished work on 2 May - and had been walking to some shops in Bolsover when Kyle Stephenson walked up to him and punched him to the floor in an unprovoked attack.

Mr Stromberg was left with half a skull and he nearly died, having spent two weeks in a coma.

He is waiting for an operation to have a titanium skull fitted, and can't return to work as a grounds worker until that operation happens.

On Monday, Stephenson was sentenced to one year and 10-and-a-half months in prison after being found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm.

A fall - or even a knock - could kill him, given his brain is unprotected, and so he wears a helmet when out and about.

A knock to the injury could be "fatal", said Braden

"There might be an inch or half inch of spinal fluid and then it's just my brain," explained Mr Stromberg.

"It's very vulnerable...if anything hits it, it could potentially be fatal."

Since the incident Mr Stromberg has lived with his mother, Louise, who says she's suffered from anxiety and panic attacks since the assault on her son.

"Every second of every minute of every day we just thought, the machine's going to stop," she said, speaking about the weeks Braden spent in hospital in a coma.

When asked about his waking up, she said: "It was as if he'd been reborn...I'd got my boy back."

A fundraiser has since been launched to support Mr Stromberg, which has raised over £1,000 so far.

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