A MIDDLE-AGED man 'battered' a 15-year-old boy, leaving him with swollen black eyes and cuts and bruises to his face.

The man, believed to be in his late 30s, also allegedly attacked Dean Humphries' disabled father, leaving him shaken as he struggled to dial the emergency services.

Seven-stone Dean, of Grange Lane, Winsford, believes the attack was sparked after a dispute with a classmate. The man is believed to have been a relative of the other child involved.

It happened outside his home just before 8pm last Tuesday when he and friend Shaun Ode were fixing a motor-bike.

Dean said: 'The man just came down the drive and pushed me into the house then he came through the door and was shouting at me.'

The thug went into the house and allegedly targeted Dean's father Guy, pinning him against the wall.

'When he was back outside the house the attacker flew at Dean once more and lifted him off the ground to headbutt him before dropping him to the floor.

He then punched him in the head repeatedly.

Dean added: 'I couldn't fight back against him and he just kept going for me.'

He was treated at Leighton Hospital for his injuries but allowed home later the same night.

Even a week after the attack Dean, a pupil at Rudheath High School, is still suffering the ill-effects.

Guy said: 'He is still getting headaches and he will be going back to the hospital.'

Dean's mum Sue was devastated when she returned from a quick errand to find an ambulance parked outside her house.

Sue said: 'At first I thought the ambulance was for someone else. Then I realised it was for my Dean.

'I just can't stop thinking that a big man has done that to him.

'I want Dean's picture in the paper to shame this man in front of his kids and realise this is what a grown man did to my son.'

A spokesman for Cheshire police confirmed that the incident was being investigated.