A taxi driver has been left almost completely blind and housebound after being attacked with a metal pole.

Ali Begzada, 43, spotted a young boy being chased down the street by a man and decided to step in when another thug attacked on the father-of-one from behind.

Noor Hussain, 42, used the metal pole to hit Ali in the face, rupturing his left eyeball and leaving him completely blind in that eye.

The man who was chasing the boy said he was doing it because he thought he had stolen a bike during the incident of May 29, 2018, in Cardiff.

Ali has little memory of what happened, but described being hit with the pole being like an ‘electric shock’.

Now, more than a year after the attack, Ali has been left a constant migraine that means he cannot even stand up and is no longer able to provide for his family.

‘The pain is almost 24 hours a day. Especially at night, I can’t sleep,’ he said.

‘The only thing I can do without difficulty is get a glass of water. Nothing else.

‘Because I can’t send money for my wife and my boy, I have stress and depression, especially in the night. I’m worried about them.’

The sight in his right eye has also began to deteriorate, leaving him almost completely blind and now relies on his friends to help feed and wash himself.

Ali, who has been a British citizen for a decade, said he has never been out of work since arriving from Afghanistan in 2001 and has been a taxi driver in Cardiff for a number of years.

He said his wife and son are reliant on money he was sending back to Afghanistan, but he has now had to borrow to help support them at all.

He is receiving Universal Credit payments, but was only approved Personal Independent Payments for his disability at the beginning of May and still hasn’t received any money.

Ali said he feels he has been left without adequate support for his disability and is considering moving back to Afghanistan, despite the ongoing conflicts there.

‘I was happy but now I have found how difficult it can be and I don’t know why they aren’t listening to me,’ he said.

‘Sometimes I think maybe it’s because I’m a Muslim, I have a beard, and my name is Ali. If anyone was in my place they would think the same.’

Hussain denied inflicting grievous bodily harm, but was found guilty after a trial at Cardiff Crown Court.

He has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and must serve half of that in custody before being released on licence.

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