A grandfather who had a pitchfork embedded in his skull has beaten the odds to survive. But his heartbroken daughter has revealed that the horrific injuries have ruined the rest of his life.
Hugh Buckley, 54, was repeatedly stabbed and left for dead. Firefighters had to saw off the handle of the tool and doctors fought to remove its four prongs from his forehead as he battled for his life.
He spent three months in a coma and is now living in a specialist care home for people with brain injuries.
Beating the odds: Hugh Buckley survived a horrific attack in which he was stabbed with a pitchfork - but now needs round the clock care
Daughter Kathleen Buckley, 35, said her family had been shattered by the brutal attack last July.
She said: 'The thought of that pitchfork covered in blood haunts me. The fact that someone could take a big farming tool like that and put it in my dad's head makes me sick to my stomach.
'He will be scarred with those prongs for the rest of his life. The doctors saved him from death but he is not my dad any more.
'He's lost his life because of this, he is in a home needing 24-hour care and unable to speak when he should be happy, he should be healthy and playing with his grandchildren.'
Devastating: The X-rays show where the prongs of the pitchfork embedded themselves in the 54-year-old's skull
Hugh, a father of six and grandfather of seven, was attacked with the vicious tool on July 14 last year in his home in Clydebank, Glasgow. The High Court at Dumbarton heard he had gone round for dinner to a friend's house.
The jury was told his friend, who was paranoid and believed he was being watched and had had his food poisoned, left the room during the visit.
He returned with a pitchfork and began attacking Hugh with it, repeatedly stabbing him in the head.
The grandfather was left lying unconscious on the floor in a pool of blood, where he was found with the pitchfork sticking out of his neck the next day.
He was taken to the Western Infirmary in Glasgow where it was said firefighters used specialist sawing equipment to remove the fork handle.They went into the operating theatre too to help remove the prongs from his head.
Hugh's family were told he had severe bleeding in his brain and was unlikely to last the night.
Further damage: More X-rays revealed the full extent of the attack, which left Hugh with a fractured jaw and skull and bleeding on the brain
Transferred to the Southern General that night, he had a fractured skull, a fractured jaw and a bolt through his head to bring down the swelling on his brain.
The retired labourer was taken back to the Western Infirmary after a week, where he stayed in intensive care for three months, in a deep coma, from which it was thought he might never wake.
Retail assistant Kathleen visited him every day and sat by his side.
'I sat there crying every day, begging him to wake up,' she said. 'But he never opened his eyes. The only movement was when he kept lifting his arm, it had puncture wounds in it like he'd used it to fight off the pitchfork.
Before the attack: Hugh, pictured here in the 1980s, has six children and seven grandchildren
'I think he was having flashbacks and trying to protect himself again.' When he opened his eyes finally, Hugh's loved ones dared to hope he was back with them.
But he only regained the movement in his right arm and leg and did not speak again.
He was transferred to Murdostoun Castle, a brain injury specialist home in Wishaw, Lanarkshire, last November.
A speech therapist has tried to break through his silence but so far Hugh cannot speak about his horror attack.
It is thought he will need round-the-clock care for the rest of his life Kathleen has not given up hope and visits him twice a week, the vi siting times allowed for relatives.
Her sons, Declan, 12, and Robbie, 8, who were kept away from their grandfather until his hair grew over the deep gashes left by the prongs in his head, go with her.
They play Hugh his favourite Fleetwood Mac songs and hope they can sometimes see a flash of emotion in his eyes.
Hugh's alleged attacker pleaded not guilty to assault to severe injury, causing permanent impairment and attempted murder at the High Court in Dumbarton. A jury acquitted the defendant by majority on the grounds of insanity and the court made a temporary order for him to be sent to a hospital for mental health treatment.
He will appear again, for a permanent order to be decided, on May 20.
Meanwhile, Hugh's family are fighting to pick up the pieces after the pitchfork attack.
'I don't know if my dad knows what happened to him,' Kathleen said. 'I don't know if he knows me or knows the grandchildren. I miss him, I miss his chat and his funny anecdotes.'
'Sometimes I can't help but think it would have been better if he was gone because I can't see much of him left. But we keep hoping one day he will be better, that's all we can do.'