THE family of a man from Manningtree who was left with serious head injuries has appealed for information about the brutal attack.

Chris Naya, 35, was discovered in Central Park in Chelmsford shortly before 1.50am on Thursday, December 22.

He was unconscious and taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge for treatment.

Chris’ wife Jess said: "Chris is a hardworking, loving father and husband.

"Our whole family has been through a great ordeal since this happened to Chris, in particular our children who miss their father dearly.

"We are a very close family and not having him with us every day is heartbreaking.

"We are very grateful he is still alive, but he is on a long road to recovery.

"I am asking, please, for anyone with any information to please contact the police.

"Our lives will never be the same again and it would be awful to think that this might happen to someone else and some other family to go through what we are.”

Det Sgt Phil Greaves, of Chelmsford CID, said: "Fortunately Chris has made really good progress in his recovery and has been able to talk with friends and family.

"What we know at this time is that Chris has said that he was struck in the head in Central Park close to the footbridge that leads into Upper Bridge Road.

"Although we cannot be sure at this time exactly what Chris was hit with, we believe that it was from someone punching him.

"We believe this happened at about 1.45am and we have also discovered that Chris is now missing his Samsung Galaxy S4 mobile phone, which is similar to the one pictured.

"Chris has suffered a significant injury and although he is recovering from his injuries, it is likely that it will be a considerable amount of time before he is able to leave hospital.

"We know from reviewing CCTV footage that there were people in the park around the time he was there.

"The last month has been very testing for Chris’ friends and family and I am urging anyone with information about what happened to him – no matter how insignificant they think it may be - to contact either myself or one of my team.”