FORMER cab driver Chris Harrison says he thought he was going to die after being attacked by a drunken thug.

Since the assault, during which part of his ear was bitten off, Chris has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and has given up his livelihood.

The incident took place at around 5am on July 13 outside McDonald's on the St Helens Linkway.

His attacker Dane Hodkinson, 26, from Leigh, was jailed for nine years last week at Liverpool Crown Court, with Judge Clement Goldstone QC, the Recorder of Liverpool, branding him "seriously dangerous" as this was not the first time he'd attempted to bite somebody's ear off.

Chris, 44, was accompanied in court by family and friends, including a group of colleagues from the taxis.

Reacting to the sentencing, he said: "It feels good to know he's not going to be on the streets for a long time.

"Watching the CCTV in court was an ordeal. I've had to sell the taxi. I'm too scared to go back.

"I might go back to driving wagons; a lorry load isn't going to bite me.

"I started on the taxis in 1997 and over the last two years I changed to early morning shifts because it was getting more violent at night. The irony of it!"

Describing the attack, he said: "It was early morning and he was my first fare. He was wearing a suit and tie and seemed like he'd had a lot to drink.

"I asked if he had the money and he said he didn't so I told him to go and get some from the cash machine. It's company policy - we can't drive someone who can't pay.

"Then, he just set upon me in the taxi. We got out of the taxi and were punching each other.

"He pulled my t-shirt over my head - that's how he got the better of me. He stamped on my head, stamped all over me, smashed my head on the kerb.

"He bit my finger then my arms, elbow and some of my ear off.

"He was like a wild animal. I thought I was going to die.

"I remember thinking, 'my grandson has just been born, I don't want to die outside McDonalds'."

Chris, who lives in Parr with wife Helen, suffered numerous injuries to his face and body including internal and external back wounds.

He is waiting for further reconstructive surgery on his ear, has recently been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and is still under a psychologist.

He said: "This has been a massive trauma.

"For weeks I couldn't sleep, I was waking up sweating, having nightmares."

Chris, who has a 20-year-old daughter and four-month-old grandson Harry, says the last thing he remembers is a lady who worked at McDonald's coming over.

"I don't remember being in the ambulance or phoning my wife," he said, "but she said I was screaming down the phone."

Wife Helen said: "It was devastating getting a phone call from my husband at five in the morning saying 'I'm dying'. I can't get the call out of my head.

"He left my husband for dead. He's a vile, nasty man. I'm just glad he was caught."

After his arrest, Hodkinson, who had drunk 20 pints followed by jager bombs at a wedding in St Helens, smashed his head on the inside of the police van and tried to say they had assaulted him but the incident was caught on CCTV.

When he sobered up he said he remembered being in a "scuffle" but later pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

The court heard that Hodkinson had previous convictions for possessing an offensive weapon, threatening behaviour and affray.