A MAN who was left scarred for life after a brutal assault in a Holloway pub has been told he will not receive any compensation because HE prevented police catching the culprit.

Dom Riordan, 25, was out drinking with friends at the Big Red in Holloway Road on March 5, when he was subjected to an unprovoked glass attack by a drunken thug.

Now, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority have said he will not receive a pay out as he did not co-operate with police at the scene.

Mr Riordan is appealing against the decision, but he says his case has been further weakened by a lack of action from the police that has led to crucial footage of the incident being lost.

He said: “Some friends and I were drinking at the bar when a guy started shouting abuse at us. We moved away, but he thought we had insulted him because he rushed over and punched my mate.

“I tried to pull him off, then a bouncer came and dragged my friend outside.

“At this point, the guy smashed a pint glass over my head and punched me a couple of times while I was on the floor. He knocked out half of my front tooth, I had stitches above my left eye and a scar on the cheek which will be with me forever.

“When the police came, they were told that we were the ones causing trouble, but after looking at the CCTV footage they agreed we didn’t start it.”

After being stitched up in hospital, Mr Riordan - a web developer from south west London - called the police to be told a dectective was looking into the case.

The following day he called again and was told a PC was looking into it and he would get in touch.

“I heard nothing from him, and kept calling with no luck,” said Mr Riordan. “Then I finally got through and was told that the police could only get footage going back to March 12. They had closed the case without telling me, I couldn’t believe it.

“I don’t understand why they didn’t take the footage on the night it happened. There is a form they can get the venue to sign to make sure they don’t delete the footage, why didn’t they do that?

“Now I am told that I can’t get compensation because I was uncooperative. I had been drinking and lost a lot of blood, how cooperative did they think I was going to be?

“The letter says that I kept changing my version of events and impeded the police in their enquiries.”

“This incident has really affected me and is always at the back of my mind when I am going out. I even had to cancel a date because I was so disfigured and it has cost me �200 to get my tooth fixed. Now, to find out I can’t get any compensation because of what looks like police incompetence makes me feel like a vitim. It makes me feel frustrated and very angry. What’s the point in paying all these taxes if the police can’t even protect you?”

A spokesman for Islington police said: “We can confirm that police were investigating an allegation of assault on a 25-year-old man that occurred on March 5.

“We cannot discuss individual cases, however, we encourage the victim to contact us regarding any grievances he has in relation to this investigation so that we can work together to resolve them.”