A man who was beaten and left in hospital by a gang of men while waiting 40 minutes for the police to arrive says he feels “severely let down”.

The victim, a 51-year-old sales consultant who has asked not to be named, was left in hospital with a broken cheekbone and concussion – despite calling the police three times after a minor car collision escalated.

He said the incident, in City Road, Finsbury, began when, instead of swapping insurance details, the driver of the other car involved drove off, only stopping when his victim chased him down.

The consultant said: “I told him I would call the police and took his keys.

“The operator said they would be up to an hour.

“The driver was getting more aggressive, so I called back and said the situation was getting out of hand.

“All she could say was that I needed to change insurance details with him. I called a third time and was told the police were very busy.

“At this point a car pulled up with four or five men, friends of the other driver, who viciously attacked me.

“Luckily two female Police Community Support Officers were passing and the men ran off.”

Mistakes

He was taken to hospital with multiple injuries.

“I have been severely let down by the police,” he said.

“They have left me exposed to dangerous individuals. I was terrified.

“It will take time for my confidence to come back.

“It’s not good enough. A lot of mistakes were made and a lot of questions need to be answered.

“If this happened again, should I call the police and wait all that time or take the law into my own hands?”

The victim said he was told by police there was not enough evidence to investigate.

However since being contacted by the Gazette, officers say they have reopened the case and have issued an appeal for witnesses.

A police spokesman said: “It appears that there are some lessons to be learned from this incident.

“Officers have been quick to address these and officers from Islington CID have been liaising with the victim.”

They added one suspect had been identified, and a 19-year-old gave himself up at Islington Police Station.

He has been bailed until the beginning of December.

Anyone with information about the incident on October 24 can call 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.