AN APPEAL has been made to the Winsford community to ‘stick together’ after an autistic man was attacked by a large group of young men.

The 24-year-old Winsford man, who has asked not to be named, was walking along the Old High Street away from The Queen’s Arms with his girlfriend on Saturday, September 10, when a group of around seven men set on him.

While living an independent life, he struggles with autism, ADHD and a mild form of Tourette’s syndrome, and his sister is fearful that the mental scars of the incident will be difficult to heal.

She said: “He’s not said much about it. The incident has scarred him, he won’t go out on his own now if it’s dark and he doesn’t want to go to the pub now.

“My brother’s confidence has been knocked a great deal. We’ve all worked so hard to build up his confidence to the point where he can be independent and become the person that he has and in one night it’s been shattered, it’s just not fair.

“His girlfriend lives in Weaverham and she won’t come to Winsford after that so it’s put a strain on their relationship.”

The family say they were told by police that a lack of CCTV cover along the Old High Street has meant that they are relying on information from anyone who may have witnessed the attack or had seen a group of men nearby.

The caring sister is appealing to the public to help find who attacked her brother and to show that the town is ‘willing to protect each other.’ She added: “If I knew that someone had seen my brother that night and had seen what had happened, I would beg them to go to the police.

“We need to show that as a town we are not going to accept this type of thing and we will stick together and not stand for it. We need to show that we are willing to protect each other.”

Cheshire Police confirmed the incident and urged anyone who has any information to get in touch.

A police spokesman said: “Cheshire Police are currently investigating reports of an assault that is reported to have taken place at approximately 9.10pm on the Old High Street, Winsford.

“The victim was walking along the Old High Street when he was approached by a group of men who assaulted him.

“The victim suffered minor injuries and anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to call Cheshire Police on 101 quoting incident number 1123 of 10/09/16.”