A schoolboy was nearly blinded when he was hit in the face with a knuckleduster in a brutal and unprovoked attack.

And his sight was only saved by emergency surgery at Bradford Royal Infirmary where staff said he had had a "miraculous" escape.

Omar Bashir, pictured, a pupil at Buttershaw High School, Bradford, was felled by a single punch in the face from a boy as he walked along a school corridor.

He was then kicked by two girls as he lay on the floor, and only escaped when his friend, who was also punched, managed to pick him up.

Omar, aged 16, was taken to the hospital's Accident & Emeregency department and hadt immediate surgery on his right eye. The Great Horton youngster faced further surgery yesterday to restore the vision in his eye. He will remain in hospital until at least tomorrow.

Debbie Rowe, patient services manager for ophthalmology at Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "Omar come in with a bad eye injury, he was almost blind.

"There was a bleed behind the eye pressing on the nerves. With his treatment his vision is coming back. He has made a miraculous recovery but he is extremely lucky."

Today Buttershaw head teacher John Midgely said he believed Omar was the innocent victim of a simmering feud between two boys. He said the incident was now being probed by police.

Speaking about the attack from his hospital bed, Omar said: "A lad just came up to me and punched me. It came out of the blue.

"He had this thing wrapped around his hand which looked like a home-made knuckle duster. I could see where it had been welded together.

"I tried to cover my face but I fell to the floor and didn't know where I was. I felt dizzy and sick. Then he was dragged away from me and just ran off.

"I didn't know him but he was pumped up for a fight and just went for the first person he saw."

Today Omar's family, of Derby Street, demanded his attacker be prosecuted and the school tighten up security.

His father Bashir Hussain, 40, said: "When I saw him after the attack I was shocked and I still am. I can't believe something like this can happen inside a school.

"Action needs to be taken against the person that did this. If he gets away with it this time he will do it again."

Mr Hussain, who has a 14-year-old daughter, Sabah, at the school, is now worried for her safety unless measures are taken to stop this kind of assault.

"I normally pick the children up from school because outside the building they are my responsibility but inside they are the school's responsibility," he said.

Omar now fears this assault will affect his chances in his GCSE examinations which are just a few weeks away.

"I want to do A levels and then go the university to study criminology," he said. "Now I am worried they won't let me sit all my exams."

Head teacher Mr Midgely said: "Obviously we are very concerned about Omar and it is obviously a very unpleasant thing to happen.

"It looks like it has been done by one blow over a simmering argument between two boys and Omar was an innocent bystander.

"The police are carrying out an investigation and have asked me not comment at further length about what happened."

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said: "We received a report of a boy having been assaulted at Buttershaw High School.

"Inquiries are being made and the investigation is at an early stage. An officer has spoken to the boy's family to make them aware of the investigation and we intend to make arrangements to speak to the boy in hospital."