A DOLGELLAU pensioner has told how he was left with painful injuries after he was attacked by a drug-dealing thug in broad daylight just yards from his front door.

Martyn Gardner, 71, had bravely fought off his attacker who threatened to “smash his face in” and kill him if he did not hand over his camera.

But as Mr Gardner started to go back to his home, 19-year-old Kenny Blake attacked him from behind, leaving him with injuries that are still painful six months after the assault.

Blake of Glan Gors, Harlech, was on Friday jailed for three years and four months after being convicted of common assault and admitting drug offences at Caernarfon Crown Court.

Speaking exclusively to the Cambrian News, Mr Gardner says his injuries have made it difficult for him to work.

Shaken by the incident at the time, he was left “very upset” and “afraid of reprisals”.

“I’m in an awful lot of discomfort, full of aches and pains even though it’s been nearly six months since the assault,” said Mr Gardner.

“It’s made life difficult, I’m a keen gardener but I’ve barely been able to do a jot over summer.

“I’m pleased he’s off the streets, he’s a nuisance to the community. I’ve been told by several people that they’re glad that somebody has finally stood up to him.

“It’s about time he was off the streets,”

Mr Gardner added: “After reading about the case of Tommy Ward, an 80-year-old former soldier who died earlier this year after being ‘beaten to a pulp’ by teenagers, it just goes to show this could happen to anyone - but it’s certainly not something you expect in Dolgellau.”

Read the full story in today’s Meirionnydd edition of the Cambrian News