A YORK widower who was attacked in his home more than two months ago is preparing to leave hospital.

But Edwin Hopper, 71, will not be returning to the three-bedroom house in Acomb in which he had lived for 32 years, and in which the attack took place. Instead the father-of-five is hoping to move into a small ground-floor flat where he can still be near his friends and family.

Mr Hopper's daughter, Denise Kelly, said her father was doing extremely well in hospital but was looking forward to making a new home for himself, and hopefully putting the events of last November behind him.

She said: "From the beginning, we never thought he would get through this, but he is doing really well.

"We've got him a little ground-floor flat where a young couple with a baby live at the moment. They are hopefully going to do an exchange for my dad's house.

"He should be able to move in quite soon. We are just waiting for it all to be sorted out with the council. He didn't want to come back to the house, which we can understand. But he's looking forward to coming out of hospital."

Mrs Kelly, her sisters, Lynn Audin, June Jones and Wendy Pearson, and her brother, Peter Hopper, were devastated when their father was taken to hospital. Mr Hopper suffered multiple fractures to his face, including injuries to his jaw, eye and palate, which left him in intensive care for a week. But Mrs Kelly said the family was now starting to feel positive about the future.

She said: "It will be sad in a way, after 32 years in one house. There's no date confirmed for the move yet but hopefully we can get everything sorted out before he comes out of hospital.

"At least he doesn't have to come back to his old house."

A man has been charged in connection with the

incident.

Updated: 11:14 Monday, February 04, 2002