IN May 2005, Blackburn landlord James Foley was looking forward to marrying his childhood sweetheart Katy Grimshaw.

But an unprovoked attack by a doorman on his stag party left James with permanent brain damage which has affected every aspect of his life.

He said his experience should serve as a warning for people to think about the lifelong consequences their spontaneous actions can have.

“The last thing I wanted was a black eye. We had saved for three-and-a-half years and had the wedding planned down to a T.

“We’d picked a date, May 29 at Blackburn Cathedral, followed by a honeymoon in Vegas, Hawaii and Los Angeles. We couldn’t ask for more.”

James, then 28, had been away to Barcelona with 10 friends and was on a second, more affordable, stag ‘party’ in Blackpool on Friday, May 14.

His group, including his dad and brother, had been for a meal before the incident outside the Syndicate nightclub at 1am on Saturday.

A doorman punched James to the floor and he fractured his skull on the pavement.

The impact ricocheted through to the front of his skull, damaging his brain. He was unconscious in intensive care for eight days, the dream wedding postponed and facing irreversible physical and personality changes.

James speaks softly when he recalls the events of that night.

He constantly compares his capabilities now, to a time he refers to as ‘before Blackpool’.

“I was a confident, social person. Now I feel inferior and I’m the quietist one in the group.”

James, 33, of Dukes Brow, Blackburn, had to learn to talk and write again, but the damage to his frontal lobe has left him with permanent memory problems.

He gets frustrated when he can’t express himself and says he loses his temper and gets tired easily.

He also admits to bouts of bitterness over how the attack has cut short his plans and jeopardised his family life.

“I’m a 33-year-old man who has to have my mum looking after me. It’s embarrassing.

“That’s what we need to get through to people – what it would be like for them to be in my shoes.

“You can replace any other part of the body – there’s even pacemakers for hearts – but not the brain.”