THIS is the battered and bloodied face of an innocent tram passenger attacked by yobs.

Ian Scott was left unconscious with catastrophic injuries in a pool of his own blood after a brutal, unwarranted attack by three teenagers.

The horrific incident caused outrage and revulsion in Oldham and went viral on social media after police released shocking CCTV footage in the hunt to find the thugs who have been caught and sent to a young offenders institute.

Now, for the first time, the injured man talks exclusively about his ordeal to Ken Bennett of the Oldham Times.

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A MILD-mannered man who survived an horrific attack at an Oldham tram stop has talked for the first time about his ordeal.

Ian Scott, aged 50, was left unconscious in a pool of his own blood at Metrolink’s Freehold station after a brutal assault by three teenagers.

The mind-numbing attack last March went viral and provoked outrage and disgust when GMP released CCTV footage in a bid to net the assailants.

It showed Ian’s systematic battering which lasted nearly three agonising minutes on the tram stop platform. The attackers returned three times to continue their merciless kicking and stamping assault on his inert frame.

Initially, slightly-built Ian tried bravely to fend off the attackers but he was clubbed unconscious and the yobs, two aged 15 and one 16, continued their reign of terror aiming more than 70 kicks to his head and body.

During the attack, a tram passed through the Freehold stop on the opposite side of the tracks and having seen the attack, the tram driver climbed out of his cab and challenged the trio.

And tram passengers forced the doors open and ran to luckless Ian’s aid.

Earlier this month, the youths - they cannot be named for legal reasons - who had previously pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm were sentenced to serve varying terms from five to six years in a young offenders institute after appearing at Minshull Street Crown Court.

Today, in an exclusive interview with the Oldham Times, Ian reveals his determined efforts to readjust his life on a painful road to recovery in the wake of attack.

But he confessed: “I’m still trying to come to terms with just what happened on that March evening.

“I was returning to my home in Chadderton after a seeing friends in Oldham.

“I got off the tram with the intention of walking home. Three lads got off the train in front of me.

“Absolutely nothing was said. Then one shoved me against the tram as it began to pull away from the stop. I thought I was going to go underneath it.

“Luckily, I bounced off and managed to lash out at the lad catching him off guard and sending him reeling.

“But the other two lads came up behind me, one to the left and one to the right.

“One hit me across the back of the head with a truncheon... I don’t remember anything after that really. I just passed out.

“Later, I vaguely recall waking up on the station platform floor with someone striking a light from a lighter under my nose. I guess they were maybe trying to see my face...

“When I came too I spat one of my teeth out when I tried to talk.”

But Ian lapsed into unconsciousness again and was rushed to the Royal Oldham Hospital.

He spent several days being treated for a catalogue of injuries including a bleed behind an left eye, a broken nose, two broken ribs and extensive, deep bruising from the kicking.

“One of the detectives who came to interview me said he’d never ever seen such severe injuries from an attack. Another said I was very lucky to be alive,” Ian declared.

Since the attack Ian has been comforted by his parents and two sisters, but meantime he is wrestling with an inability to smell or taste and is waiting specialist treatment to his broken nose and dentistry to replace missing and broken teeth on his right jaw.

And the self-employed electrician has moved away from Oldham to a new address.

“Oldhamers were really supportive after attack,” he said. “But I just don’t feel safe in the town ... I get worried. So I’ve sadly moved on.

“But folk have been so kind and with the CCTV of the attack going viral I’ve had lots of good wishes.

“I can’t thank the police, hospital, the tram driver and public enough for their support.”

And he revealed he had journeyed back to scene of the crime - the Freehold tram stop - adding: “A man waiting on the platform commented that there seemed to be a lot of blood on the ground.

“I looked down... the blood was embedded in the surface. I said to him: ‘Yes... it’s mine'."