Simon Dobbin: NHS payments law for brain-damaged fan 'unlikely'

Simon Dobbin is unable to walk or talk

The wife of a football fan left paralysed in an attack says she has been told a law to force attackers to fund NHS treatment is unlikely.

Cambridge United fan Simon Dobbin, from Suffolk, was attacked after a match in Southend, Essex, in 2015.

Twelve men were jailed over the assault, which left him brain damaged.

Nicole Dobbin met Justice Secretary Robert Buckland who said the idea was unpractical but may look at charging violent offenders for their jail stays.

Mr Dobbin spent a year in hospital after the attack

Mrs Dobbin has called for the so-called "Simon's Law" to be introduced to force lifelong payments to the NHS by people convicted of violent disorder.

Her petition calling for this garnered 26,000 signatures in a month.

Mrs Dobbin, from Mildenhall, said the meeting was "very positive - Mr Buckland was touched by Simon's story and horrified by what had happened to him".

"Mr Buckland said that it probably wasn't going to be practical to go through the NHS route to pass costs of treatment on, however he is going to look into charging them for their stay in prison," she said.

"I've gone away with a lot to think about."

A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice confirmed the meeting took place.