It was supposed to be a 'lads trip of a lifetime', but it quickly ended in unthinkable disaster.

Mike Rydings, then 47, travelled to the Spanish resort of Benidorm with his pals. After a night enjoying a few drinks at a bar and watching the 2018 World Cup, he became the victim of a vicious assault.

During the early hours of June 23, Mike, a builder from Wythenshawe , was attacked. He had his nose broken and fell onto the ground, hitting his head and sustaining horrific injuries. He had been set upon by a member of a group of five or six unknown men.

Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE

He spent a month unconscious in hospital, with his then-pregnant daughter Hayley and sister Nicola flying out to be with him by his side as he lay hooked up to ventilator machines.

See Full Page