THIS is the face of a young man beaten unconcious by thugs in an unprovoked attack at York Railway Station.

Matthew Cox, 23, and his friend, Matthew Elliott, 18, were set upon by a four-strong gang as they walked along platform six, having just got off the 3.47am train from Leeds on Sunday.

The attack, as reported in yesterday's Evening Press, was seen by scores of clubbers returning from a night out. It left Mr Cox with a broken nose, two black eyes and a missing tooth.

His face is so swollen that he must wait a week for medical treatment.

"Both of my eyes are nearly closed because they are so swollen. It's very painful, and my teeth are the worst. I feel terrible," he said.

His friend suffered many cuts and bruises, a twisted ankle and a wrist injury.

Mr Cox, who lives in Carr Lane with his girlfriend and her family, said it had been a normal night out with no trouble when he and Mr Elliott caught the train home.

But as they arrived at York Railway Station and made their way out, Mr Cox was pushed from behind near the stairwell on platforms five and six.

The assailant, who was with three friends, then tried to butt Mr Elliott, but failed and went for Mr Cox, who fell to the floor, where the four attackers kicked him repeatedly.

"Matt tried to get the lad off me. If he was not there, I don't know what they would have done. Nobody stopped to help or to say anything," he said.

"The only thing he said was that we had got in his way and upset one of his friends. He was trying to get Matt to punch him, but he refused, so he hit him."

The attack lasted about four minutes and Mr Cox was knocked out.

He regained consciousness to find two former work colleagues carrying him to the front of the station to receive medical attention.

Both men, who work at a factory in Knaresborough, were taken to York Hospital, and then had to walk back to Mr Elliott's South Bank home as no taxis would pick them up while they were covered in blood.

Mr Cox, who moved to York from Hull a year ago, said: "I've never experienced anything like this, even when I was living in Hull. It hasn't bothered me too much, but knocking you to the floor and then continuing to stomp on you - it's a bit cowardly."

He said that the main attacker was white, aged 18 to 19, with short hair and stubble. He was wearing blue denim jeans, a white shirt with blue stripes in a criss-cross pattern. His accomplices were also white and aged between 18 and 19.

Anyone with information about the attack should phone British Transport Police on 0800 405040, quoting incident number 111 14/11.

Updated: 10:09 Tuesday, November 16, 2004