- Jacky Pautonnier, 56, was returning home from a dinner party last month
- Thug accosted him on train platform and demanded to try on his top hat
- When the victim refused, the yob and two friends attacked him and left him unconscious on the floor of the train
- Mr Pautonnier needed reconstructive surgery to repair the damage
A
train passenger was brutally attacked by a gang of thugs after he
refused to let them try on the top hat which has become his 'trademark'
because he wears it every day.
Jacky
Pautonnier was returning home from a dinner party when he was accosted
on the train platform by a man pestering him to try on his hat.
When
he refused, the yob went and fetched two friends, who followed him onto
the train and beat him unconscious before stealing his beloved
headgear.
Assault: Jacky Pautonnier was left with horrific injuries after he was attacked by thugs on a train
Horrific: Mr Pautonnier, a French e-cigarette seller, refused to let one yob try on his 'trademark' top hat
Mr
Pautonnier, 56, had to undergo reconstructive surgery to repair
multiple fractures on his face after the horrific assault, which took
place last month on a train between Catford and Charing Cross in London.
The
French e-cigarette salesman said: 'It's awful. I have been so sad
without my top hat. We had spent the day eating cheese and I was tired
so I went home alone.
'I was wearing my top hat and this guy carrying bags of spirits pestered me on the platform.
'The
guy said, "Hey mate, can I try on your top hat?", but the way he asked
me wasn't very nice. Usually it wouldn't be a problem but I said no and
he wasn't very happy.'
Ten
minutes later, the thug returned with two friends, and they taunted him
again on the platform then boarded the same train as him.
Surgery: Mr Pautonnier had to undergo an operation to repair the damage to his face
Injuries: The victim's skull was fractured in three places around the eyes and nose
'The
three guys sat behind me and started to tip my hat and I said, "Can you
stop please?" but he came and sat next to me,' Mr Pautonnier said.
'Then
I got up and one of the guys pushed me against the carriage door and
said, "You are getting on my nerves, why won't you let me wear your
hat?"
'I tried to calm him down but I blacked out here, I lost consciousness.'
The
father of two woke up at Charing Cross in a pool of blood before taking
the Tube home to Canada Water in south-east London and going to sleep.
When
his partner Jennie Allen arrived home she convinced him to go to
hospital, where X-rays revealed that he had fractures below his left
eye, on his nose and on the top of his left eye.
Gruesome: The scene on the train after Mr Pautonnier was beaten up and left unconscious
Suspects: Police are trying to speak to these three men over the assault on Mr Pautonnier
Mr
Pautonnier, who is president of the Association of London Normans,
bought the hat for £45 in 2008 from the Sherlock Holmes Museum in Baker
Street after his son Alex said it suited him.
Alex,
now a 24-year-old chef in London, convinced his father to wear it to
work the next day and Mr Pautonnier went on to make a habit of it.
'I wore it to work and everybody commented that it suited me,' he said. 'I've worn it ever since and it has become my trademark.
'I feel sad without it. I've got another one but it's just not the same.'
British
Transport Police released surveillance camera footage of three men they
wish to talk to following the assault but are yet to make any arrests.
Investigating
officer Stephen Allen said: 'I am keen to speak to the men in the CCTV
images as they may hold vital information to my investigation and I urge
them to come forward.'
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