Longer wait over attack pay-out

Nick Horobin wants a bigger settlement to train as a nurse

An ambulance driver who lost an eye after his ambulance was attacked will have to wait another nine months for a final decision on his compensation.

Nick Horobin, from Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, was seriously injured when a brick was thrown at his ambulance in Derbyshire in 2001.

The 36-year-old rejected the current offer of £90,000 and appealed for more to help him train as a nurse.

Last month, he handed a 3,500-name petition to Downing Street.

He has now been told that an appeal hearing will be held in the next six to nine months when the final settlement will be decided.

'Frustrating' wait

Mr Horobin said: "We have been waiting for seven years now, so nine months is a fraction of it. It is frustrating, I want to get it sorted, I really would like to get on with things.

"Hopefully I can get it through in time so I can know I am secure so I can apply for nursing next year," he told BBC Radio Derbyshire.

Mr Horobin, who now works in a care home, was originally offered £40,000 in 2004 from the Criminal Cases Injury Authority. He was later offered an extra £27,000 to take into consideration the added loss of earnings.

Mr Horobin lost his right eye and suffered serious head injuries when his East Midlands Ambulance Service vehicle overturned when he was attacked with the brick on the A52 at Shirley Hollow in September 2001.

He now has a glass eye and steel plates inserted inside his head.