A businessman, who nearly died when he was pushed down a flight of stairs at a nightclub, is pleading for help after social workers removed care from him.

Philip Nero, 51, suffered a badly fractured skull and a blood clot on the brain in the incident in May last year.

He was in a coma for six weeks, lost the sight in his left eye, suffered acute renal failure and had surgery for breathing complications and an operation to remove part of his skull.

He recently had a third operation on his skull, more than half of which is now made up of metal.

Mr Nero, who lives in a disabled person's bungalow in Buttershaw, Bradford, said he had been getting weekly visits from social workers to help out with tasks like making beds, but the service has now been removed after a review.

He said: "I got a letter from social services, saying I am fit enough to look after myself, but I am not. I have had three major brain operations, I have short-term memory loss and I do have problems.

"My son, Carl, lives close by and comes to see me every day and takes me shopping but I still need social services to come. All I want is someone to check that I'm all right and I'm taking the tablets I need.

"The social workers aren't qualified to make decisions about brain injuries and my needs. I still get dizzy and I fell in the shower the other day and cracked my head."

Social services chiefs said Mr Nero no longer needed rehabilitation, but they were trying to get him medical support through his doctor.

Mr Nero had been celebrating starting a new business when he was pushed down the stairs at a nightclub in Halifax by 36-year-old Dean Lister in a fit of temper. Lister, of Beacon Place, Buttershaw, was jailed for six years for causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

Judge Kerry Macgill said it was highly unlikely Mr Nero would be anything like the man he had been but the defiant businessman said at the time: "This isn't going to beat me. I'm going to get my life back how it was."

However, today he admitted his life had been ruined. He said: "I have to write things down in my diary so I remember to do them the next day. I can't go out by myself.

"I used to be very active. My life is unbelievably different now. It does get me down, but I get by. I have been told I cannot work again. My business, which I worked so hard to get going, has packed up. It's sad."

Mr Nero said he would never forgive Lister for what he had done. "To this day I don't know why he did it. I don't like him. He has ruined my life."

A spokesman for Bradford Council's Adult Services said Mr Nero had been receiving support from a head injury rehabilitation team since 2006. "His case was recently reviewed by his social worker and a member of our occupational therapy team who concluded that he needed no further rehabilitation.

"The family was happy with this decision but concerned about some medical issues for which they felt Mr Nero still needed support.

"One of our occupational therapists has therefore written to his GP about these concerns and asking whether any support can be provided through the health service."