This is the shocking moment a man was viciously assaulted with a pool cue.

The 44-year-old, shown in the picture wearing a purple shirt, needed more than 40 stitches above his right eye after being attacked in the Duke Street Pub in St Leonard’s, Sussex, at 10pm on Friday, March 29 last year.

CCTV footage taken at the time and shown on Crimewatch this week showed the victim and his attacker having an argument before the assault.

The video shows the two men, and an unidentified third man, in what appears to be a heated argument.

At one point they appear to square up to each other before the victim returns to his table.

The CCTV footage then shows the men standing face to face again, but when the victim turns back to his friends the offender is seen to take a step back before swing- ing the cue at the victims’ head.

Amazingly the victim remained standing and was then punched in the back of the head. Police have now appealed for information to identify the attacker.

Detective Constable Andy Lawrence said: “We have previously released CCTV still images of the man we wish to speak to, who we believe is called Perry, and does not come from the Hastings area.

“We also believe he has a mother called Barbara who plays bingo and a father called Frederick who had recently died.”

He added the police had already received a number of calls following the TV appeal. To view the video visit www.theargus.co.uk.

Anyone who recognises the man or has information about his whereabouts is urged to contact police on 101 or by emailing 101@sussex.