THE friend of a man who is in a coma after being left critically ill when he was felled by a punch has spoken about the devastating attack.

The 28-year-old barman told the Echo that seeing his close friend in hospital had left him "in tears".

He revealed the man's devastated 37-year-old girlfriend has kept a bedside vigil every day since the attack.

The victim was knocked to the ground by a single blow, causing him to smash his head on the road in Sidwell Street, Exeter.

The father-of-two, who also has two step-children, suffered a blood clot in his head and had to be operated on immediately.

Doctors put him in an induced coma to treat him.

The man remained in a coma in Plymouth's Derriford Hospital last night nearly two weeks after the attack, but is said to be in a stable condition.

Friends and family have been visiting the man, whose identity has not been released, and detectives are continuing to investigate the attack.

The friend, who was with the man at the time of the assault and did not want to be identified for fear of reprisals, said: "He was a lot worse than I thought he would be when I first went to see him in hospital.

"Seeing him lying there in a coma was the thing that shook me up — I cried like a baby.

"It is without a doubt the worst thing, seeing your friend in a coma.

"I don't think he is breathing for himself either.

"I would like to be down there every day visiting him, but I just can't cope, I would be a mess.

"His girlfriend is being really strong, but she is probably holding it all in.

"She is down there every day and all day."

The friend, who also lives in Cullompton, said the man has undergone scans on his head which have revealed bruising on the brain.

Medics have told friends and family to talk to the victim despite him being in a coma. "We don't know if he can hear us," said the friend.

"But the doctors recommend you speak to him, so we do."

The victim, his girlfriend and friend had been out enjoying a football match in the city centre and were waiting for a bus back home to Cullompton when the incident happened.

The man is understood to have spoken to two women whose child was kicking a bus shelter, when another man arrived on the scene and punched the victim.

A 30-year-old man and a 37-year-old man, both from Exeter, were taken into custody in connection with the incident, but have since been released on bail.

Police would like anyone who witnessed the incident, which happened at about 7pm on Saturday, August 21, to contact them.

Anyone with information should call Detective Constable Ould on 08452 777444 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111, quoting DE/10/8701.