A 61-year-old man who went blind in one eye after being “smashed” in the face just minutes from home is facing a bleak future.

Former cabbie Graham Hart, who is now unemployed because of his partial sight, says his life will never be the same again.

Grandfather Mr Hart, of Woodpecker Road, Larkfield, near Maidstone, was attacked as he walked home along Lunsford Lane, last October.

His teenage assailant hit him hard in the face with a bag, containing what Mr Hart believes was a bottle or brick, after he failed to provide a cigarette. The object split his eye open. His sight has never recovered.

Mr Hart was hopeful, though nervous, of returning to work as a Medway cabbie, but Medway Council says his licence will not be renewed.

He is now living on incapacity benefit and pension credit. “I am 61 and partially sighted,” he said. “I feel quite horrible, really."

He said he might be able to find some low-paid work but he would not be able to afford his mortgage. Mr Hart also says he sometimes feels depressed and his outlook on life has changed.

“I avoid Lunsford Lane at night. Local people, yes, they’re ok, but when I pass youngsters, I look and try to work them out. I feel more vulnerable. I feel my confidence has taken a knock. When I want to do something, I sit and think about it a bit longer.

“I have days when I might just watch TV a lot and sit in the chair and think for hours on end.”

He added: “The people who did this have taken something away from me. I have a hell of a job getting to sleep. I have had one or two bad dreams, and it is about this.”