A MAN left unconscious on a life-support machine after a street attack has returned home.

Father-of-seven Keith Carter has been released from hospital and is being nursed back to health by his wife, Cathy, at their home in Hartlepool.

Mr Carter, 55, suffered near-fatal head injuries in the attack and needed emergency surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain.

He was unconscious in intensive care for a week but is now making steady progress, his family said last night.

Daughter Debbie Carter, 31, said: "Physically, he is a lot better than he was - he is able to move his arms and his legs without problems.

"But he is still having problems remembering things, he is very forgetful. We are just pleased he's home."

Mr Carter was attacked in King Oswy Drive, near its junction with Nesbyt Road, in the early hours of Sunday, June 15 - Father's Day.

It is thought he had gone to sort out trouble involving his 16-year-old son, John, when he was attacked in front of the teenager at 12.30am. Police carried out house-to-house inquiries in the area and studied footage from closed-circuit television cameras.

* A 21-year-old man has been charged with causing Mr Carter grievous bodily harm, and has appeared at Hartlepool Magistrates' Court.