Dragon's Den contestant 'asked man to stop urinating'
- Published
Joe Walters, also known as Texas Joe, won £50,000 investment on Dragon's Den
A ex-Dragon's Den contestant says he feels lucky to be alive after being savagely beaten by three men he had asked to stop urinating in the street.
Joe Walters suffered a bleed on the brain, a shattered eye socket and a broken jaw during the attack in Fairfax Road, Swiss Cottage, on 10 June.
Mr Walters, who runs a restaurant in London Bridge, was with his partner when he was set upon near his home.
The 45-year-old said he believed his attackers "were trying to kill me".
Dallas-born Mr Walters, also known as Texas Joe, described how he and his partner had commented to a man who was urinating against a tree in the pavement.
"I said something and he just hit me, then again a couple of times."
He said two other men then appeared who also started attacking him before "all of a sudden I was hit from the side by a sucker punch".
Mr Walters fell to the ground and was knocked unconscious as he was repeatedly kicked in the head.
Mr Walters spent a week in hospital and still requires regular medical treatment
The restaurateur described his attackers as "sociopaths" who had attacked him while he was unable to defend himself.
"They had crossed into another realm. They were trying to kill me... I'm lucky. It really could have been the end."
He suffers regular chronic headaches because he still has bleeding on the brain and finds it hard to eat solid food.
Speaking about his attackers the 45-year-old said he was "not concerned with seeing them go to jail" but wanted to "make sure it doesn't happen to the next person".
Police have released CCTV images of two men they are trying to find over the attack
Mr Walters won a £50,000 investment on Dragon's Den from Peter Jones for his company, but eventually decided to continue on his own.
Police have released CCTV of two men they are trying to find over the attack but no arrests have been made.
Det Con Angela Greaves said it was a "needlessly vicious attack" and appealed for "anyone who can put a name to the faces of the men pictured to call without delay".