THE VICTIM of a brutal racist attack, which left him needing 62 stitches, has urged witness to come forward and help police with their investigation nearly two months after the crime.

The 28-year-old father-of-two was walking on Barkingside High Street opposite Fulwell Cross Leisure Centre at about 1:30am on Sunday, May 16.

He was set upon by a gang of four Asian men, who had pulled up alongside the victim in a small blue car, thought to have been a Ford Fiesta.

They shouted racist abuse at him before bottling him and then repeatedly slashing him across the face with a Stanley knife.

He was taken to King George Hospital in Ilford, before being transferred to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel for specialist surgery.

Police have released CCTV images of three of the men wanted in connection with the attack, in which the victim lost two pints of blood.

The victim – who does not want to be identified – said: “I've gotten a bit better since the attack, although obviously I still the scars across my face.

“I'm back into work over on the Olympic site, where I drive an excavator, so that's good.

“But I still don't go out too late, and when I do go out I have to make sure I have lots of people around.

“My mates have all been really good, they were fantastic from day one. They've really helped me a lot.”

He said that he still had no idea why the men would attack him, as he was minding his own business using his mobile phone outside a late-night shop.

He added: “I was just standing there when they got out of the car, and the first thing I knew they said 'You ****ig white mug' and hit me over the head with a bottle.

“I've used that shop so many times, and never had any trouble. I've lived around this area all my life and nothing like that ever happens.

“It was just another blow in my life, because I'd only just broken up with my wife in January. And now it's going to be really hard for me to meet someone and find a new girlfriend because of the scars on my face.

“Hopefully this will help because I just want the police to catch them, that's all I care about.”

Anyone with information about the attack should contact DC Adam Whitehall at Redbridge Police on 020 8345 2766.