A Stevenage man whose teeth were smashed out with a champagne bottle in an unprovoked assault has blasted his cowardly attackers.

The 34-year-old was set upon by a group of four men on Saturday evening while he was riding his bike home from the Asda superstore in Monkswood Way.

The father-of-three said: “I do not deserve it. I have done nothing wrong. Why should I go out and do my daily things and have a coward hit me with a bottle?

“He had his mates with him. He is a coward and didn’t even need a weapon. You cannot take on four people unless you’re Bruce Lee.”

The man had left his partner’s house on his red mountain bike to get some shopping and pulled over in Shephall View to roll a cigarette and ring her.

As he was sitting down on a bench at about 7.40pm he heard some shouting further up the street and was approached by the group.

One of them was holding a champagne bottle and accused him of beating up his friend. Then, without hesitation, he smashed him in the face with the bottle – cutting his lip and knocking out two teeth.

He said: “I can’t picture it because it happened so quickly. I didn’t know where I was or what was happening. I was in shock and dazed. I stumbled round into the path which leads to Colestrete to get away from them.

“They followed me and then another guy came and said I wasn’t the person they were looking for.”

The group fled when the man ran up to a nearby house and started banging on the door to attract attention.

Nobody answered and so he called his partner before collapsing in a garden for an hour.

Eventually he recovered and took a taxi home where his partner became hysterical when she saw his face.

The man has a phobia of hospitals and, despite the advice of his GP, is reluctant to go to A&E for treatment.

His bike was also stolen in the assault and he is now struggling to get around as he doesn’t drive.

Police questioned him about the attack but he has been unable to recall what the offenders looked like – apart from that they were aged between 17 and 20 years old.

Anyone with information should call police on 101.