PHOTOS: CCTV captures moment Bradford taxi operator given savage beaten with metal bar - leading to possible brain injury
Abbas Yasin, 25, and a driver were ambushed by a lone thug wielding a metal bar who stormed the family-run taxi office they work in.
The father-of-two has since undergone an eight-hour operation to remove fragments of bone from his brain and remains in intensive care.
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Hide AdIt is understood the violent attacker entered the taxi rank posing as a customer and had hidden the bar up his sleeve before flicking it down into his hand "like something out of a movie".
He then fled Ace Budget Cars in Bradford, West Yorks., empty-handed in an Audi TT, but the motive behind the attack is not yet known.
Taxi bosses say the scene was left in puddles of blood following the savage attack shortly before midnight on Sunday (6 August).
The business was closed for around 12 hours while forensics officers gathered evidence and the family then had the grim job of cleaning up.
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Hide AdThe attacker, believed to be a white man, struck when switchboard operator Mr Yasin and driver Waqaas Mohammad, 30, were the only staff inside the offices.
Business owner Munir Hussain, Mr Yasin's father-in-law, said: "We don't know what the motive is for the attack but it's a shock.
"I've not slept since.
"He came in posing as a customer. When he was opening the door, just before he pulls the handle down he pulls the bar out of his sleeve.
"He's laid into the driver and hit him."
He added: "The whole base was just covered in blood. There were just puddles."
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Hide AdMr Hussain, who has owned the business for 25 years, said his son-in-law went to defend Mr Mohammad and the attacker hit him on the head with the metal bar and "cracked his head open".
The police have since taken the CCTV footage and Mr Hussain's son Amir, who manages the office, said it made horrifying viewing.
Amir claimed the attacker fled without taking anything and Mr Mohammad raised the alarm.
He said: "I still can't believe it. It's really upsetting. My sister's a real wreck now."
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Hide AdMr Mohammad, also believed to be a father-of-two, received hospital treatment for injuries to his arm, leg and back but was later discharged.
At the time of the attack, he had been only minutes away from clocking off for the night and going on holiday with his family.
Detective Inspector Alan Weekes, of Bradford District CID, said: "Police were called to premises in Thornton Road at about 12.02am on Monday to a report of an assault where a weapon was alleged to have been used.
"Officers attended and found a man in his 20s with a serious head injury.
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Hide Ad"He was taken to hospital for further treatment for the injury, which is not believed to be life threatening.
"Following inquiries at the scene it was established that a second man had suffered less serious injuries and had attended hospital for treatment.
"The suspect is described as a man in a blue hooded top and it is thought he arrived and left the scene in a white two-door vehicle.
"Inquiries are continuing and anyone who may be able to assist the investigation is asked to contact Bradford District CID, quoting crime reference 13170361730.
"Information can also be reported anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."