A BUSINESSMAN was left scarred and nearly blinded after an unprovoked attack.

Father-of-two Rob McKenzie, 52, thought he would die when he was glassed in a nightclub.

Mr McKenzie needed 36 stitches and a metal plate in his cheek after a stranger thrust a glass in his face.

He said: "There was one point when I did think, 'I'm going to die here'.

"I was swallowing mouthfuls of blood. He was just doing it for kicks."

Mr McKenzie, a property developer, was enjoying a night out with friends at Newcastle's Greys Club, when he was set upon in the early hours of Sunday.

Police also think he may have been kicked because his cheekbone was fractured.

Mr McKenzie, who lives near Washington, Wearside, said: "The doctors said I was lucky. It could have been in my eye and I could have lost my sight. I am lucky in one respect, but I do not think I am lucky in another."

A police spokesman said: "This was a random, unprovoked attack on a person on a night out."

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 0191-214-6555 extension 62145.