A MAN told he couldn't claim compensation following a vicious town centre attack because officials wrongly thought he was in prison at the time was today celebrating a victory for people power and an award of more than £3,000.

Chris Wright, 40, of Whalley Banks, Blackburn, fought against a decision by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority after officials mixed him up with another man serving a prison sentence at the time of the attack.

Mr Wright was kicked and punched to the ground and had his left arm broken in three places during the attack in Blackburn in March 2001.

His attacker was never caught, but he was told by his solicitor that he might be entitled to an award from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.

But after contacting the CICA, which administers compensation to victims of crime and violence, Mr Wright was told he was not entitled to any compensation after the body mistook him for another man -- Charles Wright -- who was in prison after committing a string of over 20 offences in the Merseyside area.

Now, after a year of waiting, Mr Wright has finally received the news he has been granted just over £3,000 for the injury.

He said: "It was a case of mistaken identity. The man the CICA was claiming I was had a list of convictions, which had nothing whatsoever to do with me. I have had to get computer print outs from Scotland Yard to prove my true identity.

"I contacted the CICA two weeks ago and asked them how my claim was going and was told it was coming to an end, although they couldn't tell me if I was going to get anything."

But when Mr Wright arrived home on Friday evening he was delighted to find a letter from his solicitors informing him of his victory.

He said: "I'm delighted that I have finally been paid out for the injury and pain I suffered and am hoping I will now get some sort of written apology from Lancashire Constabulary for all the problems I have faced."

Speaking to the Lancashire Evening Telegraph about the case Mr Wright's solicitor, John Myles of Forbes, Blackburn, said: "Awards from the CICA are calculated on a points based system, and if the victim of a crime has criminal convictions of a sufficiently serious nature, they may not be entitled to compensation.

"We got a letter from them saying that a 'Charles' Wright would not qualify for compensation because he had a number of convictions which were not spent."

"These convictions could not be his. It was someone with the same surname and a similar date of birth, but not my client.

"It could just be a mistake, but then again it could be something much more sinister. This chap may have used my client's name and address as an alias, and his date of birth.

"All the crimes are based around Merseyside, and he was supposedly in the middle of a long prison sentence when the original assault took place."

A spokeswoman for the CICA said: "We rely on information from the police to process claims, from the police. In this case, there was an issue which needed to be resolved.

"We do carry out rigorous checks, but claims can take a lot of time to process so we always ask for patience from those we are dealing with."