Sight lost in pub assault
A 26-year-old has lost sight in his left eye after he was hit with a makeshift weapon in a city bar.
Gareth, who did not want his surname used, said he was still in shock and disbelief that he might never regain his vision.
He says he was attacked without warning as he went to help workmates in a minor scuffle in Carnegie's on Friday evening.
"It was really from nothing - I wasn't involved in a fight," he said. "I was hit from the side with possibly a bottle or another object and it ruptured my eye."
The attack caused a 10mm cut from the front to the back of Gareth's eyeball.
"I wake up every morning and wonder if it's really happened," he said. "It's pretty bad."
The diesel mechanic had emergency surgery at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital but has no vision in his left eye.
Doctors told him his eye needed time to heal before they could operate again to see if they could repair any of the damage.
Gareth said he had been shocked at the violence from something minor.
"I hear about it happening all the time but you never think it's going to happen to you," he said.
"They didn't come face-to-face with me. It was a complete blind attack."
Gareth and three work colleagues went to the Murray Street pub for a few drinks after a Christmas celebration at work.
They were getting ready to leave about 11pm when there was some pushing and shoving with two men the bouncers were ejecting, police said.
"I went to support my mate and pushed someone away and was hit from the side," Gareth said.
"I went straight to the ground and instantly lost my vision."
Perth city detectives say it is unclear whether one of the men in the scuffle wounded Gareth or it was someone else. They are reviewing security video from the pub but also asked anyone at Carnegie's who saw what happened to call them.
Gareth has an anxious wait to see if doctors can restore any of his sight and his parents have flown from their New Zealand home to be with him.
"I'm trying to recover the best I can and wait to see what happens," he said.
Gareth asks anyone who knows or saw the attacker to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
