PUB owner Ricky Park said the attack that left one of his regulars fighting for life was the worst thing he had seen in 27 years.

Mr Park runs Ricky’s Bar on Leeds Road in Bradley Mills, where Tony Schofield, 54, was attacked by a gang of four on July 31 last year.

The father-of-six, of Town Terrace off Leeds Road, spent three weeks in hospital after suffering serious head injuries.

On Tuesday Daniel Lockwood, 22, Daniel Mullins, 24, Gareth Garside, 23, and Jamie Wood, 24, were jailed for a combined total of 21-and-a-half years for the attack.

Mr Park said: “We just don’t get that sort of trouble in here. In the 27 years that I have been here, that’s the most vicious thing I have seen.

“Garside and Mullins had been in the pub before, but they never seemed to be the sort of thugs that they have shown themselves to be.”

Mr Schofield, (pictured below, inset) who has drunk at Ricky’s Bar for more than 15 years, had been inside on the night of July 31, when he was confronted by Lockwood.

After making unfounded allegations about one of Mr Schofield’s four sons, Lockwood and Wood frogmarched him outside where all four of the gang set upon him.

Mr Park was on holiday in Turkey when the incident happened, while his daughter, Tracy Bratley, looked after the pub.

He later watched the incident on the pub’s CCTV, which formed a key part of the prosecution case.

“It ruined everything,” he said.

“My daughter was devastated.

“If it hadn’t been for the quick actions of her and the regulars, Tony would probably have died.

“They went outside when they realised there was trouble and attended to him until the paramedics got there.”

Ricky’s Bar was shut for four days after the incident and Mr Park had a visit from licensing officials to make sure he was running the premises properly.

He said the incident had a major impact on the pub’s reputation and it had continued to struggle.

“I could have lost my business – just because of these four thugs,” he said.

“Trade is bad in general and the weather has had an impact, so you don’t know if it’s because of that or this incident, but business is down.

“Most of my regulars tell me things like this do happen and we have done everything we can. They feel safe.”

He said he hoped the gang served the entirety of their sentences and added: “They have ruined their own lives and I feel sorry for their families having to live with the fact that they are related to such vicious thugs.”