A witness rushed to help an alleged assault victim as he staggered out of a barbers shop with a bleeding head wound.
Kevin Smith, a Neighbourhood Champion, saw an Asian man coming out of Raja Salon in Village Way East, Rayners Lane, on Monday and rushed him back inside to stem the flow of blood.
The 48-year-old owner of Youens tile shop next door said: "I was out the front of my shop when this guy came stumbling out of the barbers with his hand over his head and there was blood everywhere. We were out the front but hadn’t heard anything before that. He came stumbling out and it transpired there was a big gash on his head, someone said later there was one on his neck as well. I took him back in to the barbers and put some towels on his head to keep a compress on it.”
Mr Smith tweeted:
He said: “The man didn’t really know what was going on. He didn’t speak very good English. He came out of the barbers so I just pushed him back inside until the ambulance arrived. There wasn’t anyone else in there, something must have happened at the back of the shop.”
Mr Smith said he believed the victim was Sri Lankan and worked in the barbers salon.
When asked if he was concerned there might still be someone in the shop after the attack he said: “I didn’t think about that to be honest, there was no one in there when we went back inside.”
The victim is now in a stable condition but was rushed to hospital in a critical condition yesterday.
A police spokeswoman said: “Police were called to Village Way East at approximately 1.50pm on Monday to reports of an assault. London Ambulance Service and the London Air Ambulance were also called to the scene. A man in his 50s was taken to a west London hospital by LAS in a critical condition. It is believed an altercation took place between the victim and another man before he received his injuries. Officers from Harrow investigate.”
A spokeswoman from London Ambulance Service said: “We were called at 1.45pm to reports of an assault at Village Way East. We sent an ambulance crew and London’s Air Ambulance and a duty officer. Staff treated a man reported to be in his 50s and he was taken to hospital as a priority. A doctor from the Air Ambulance accompanied him to hospital.”
Police officers remained at the scene until Tuesday.
A 57-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and is in custody at a north west London police station.
