A DISABLED man needed nine stitches in his head after a large stone was thrown at him by one of a gang of youths.

Fouad Shuman, 56, whose left leg was amputated seven years ago, was targeted by the thug after supporting a shopkeeper who refused to sell the group cigarettes because they were under-age.

The incident happened on Tuesday last week at West Drayton Grocery and News store, in Station Approach, West Drayton. Mr Shuman said he was trying to calm the situation down.

He said: "I told them we can't sell you the cigarettes because you're under-age but that I could give them a pound and they could buy chocolate.

"Then they started kicking the door and using foul language and then went away and came back with some stones."

Mr Shuman said five boys were involved. "One of them then hurled a large stone towards my head. I managed to duck and it just scraped the top of my head.

"But because I'm on crutches it wasn't so easy for me to duck. Then the same boy picked up the ice cream sign outside the shop and hurled it at me. Because of my disability I couldn't do anything. He then went and found an even bigger stone and threw it at my head and blood started gushing out."

Mr Shuman said the gang then appeared to realise the seriousness of what had taken place and started to run.

He said: "An elderly lady kindly stopped the bleeding with tissues and waited with me until the ambulance arrived.

"I have had four heart attacks in the past, and when the ambulance got there they said I was showing symptoms of the onset of another one.

"They took me to Harefield Hospital and were getting ready to operate on me to deal with the heart attack, but fortunately it didn't happen and I was sent back to Hillingdon Hospital for the stitches."

Mr Shuman lost his leg during a rebel attack in Sierra Leone in 2002. He said: "When the rebels came I wasn't scared because I was an able bodied person, but with these children last week I was on crutches and felt like there was very little I could do to defend myself."

A spokesman for the police said: "Two people were arrested, both youths under 18, and are bailed to return to the police station in July."