A MAN who was repeatedly beaten over the head during an attempted robbery has spoken about the terrifying attack.

Fred Lawton, a councillor on Darlington Borough Council, suffered at least six heavy blows to his skull with a blunt instrument after refusing to hand over money to two young thugs.

The balaclava-clad youngster who attacked him only ran away when he banged on the door of a nearby home with an umbrella and begged to be let in.

Coun Lawton said: "I was walking home when two young men on the other side of the road approached me, one pointed what looked like a gun at me and said 'give me your money'.

"I refused and he hit me on the top of the head with the object. It wasn't metal - it felt more like wood.

"He kept shouting 'give me your money' and I think he must have hit me a dozen times. I was frightened of falling over.

"I started shouting for attention, got to a door and banged my brolly on it.

"He was still hitting me on the head."

The thugs ran off and the occupants of the house called an ambulance for Coun Lawton, a councillor for the North Road ward.

"There was blood everywhere, but my skull wasn't broken. I have three major cuts," he said.

Yesterday, he said he wanted to warn people in Darlington that one of the young attackers was very violent and still on the loose.

He also appealed for the second teenager, who was not involved in the violence, to give himself up.

"That first man is really dangerous. If he had hit me on the wrong part of the head, or it he had hit somebody less robust, he could have killed someone.

"I would say to the other one, 'think about the situation you are in. I suspect you weren't really into the violence. Confess before you get yourself into deeper trouble'."

The attack happened in Darlington's Cleveland Avenue at about 11.45pm on Wednesday. The men were described as white, in their late teens or early 20s, and about 5ft 9in.

The first man had a local accent and was wearing a black tracksuit and black gloves. The second, a dark-coloured tracksuit with white stripes down the arms and legs.

Darlington police have appealed for any witnesses to get in touch. Contact DC Paula Fairest at Darlington CID on 0845 60 60 365 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.