A popular local footballer is recovering slowly following an horrific attack at a Pembrokeshire nightclub.

Nineteen-year-old Liam Phillips suffered a fractured jaw in three places and had to undergo hospital treatment following the incident which occurred over the Easter weekend.

Liam, of Princes Gate, was assaulted on the R&B dance floor in Eddie’s nightclub in Haverfordwest sometime between 1 and 1.25 am on Bank Holiday Monday, March 28.

After going to the club with a friend, Liam doesn’t remember anything of the incident until waking up in A&E.

With the aid of CCTV footage from the club, his family and the police have been trying to piece together the dramatic events that occurred.

Police have issued an appeal for information, while Liam’s upset and horrified aunt, Debbie Neale, of Tenby’s Blue Ball Restaurant, where he works as a third chef, has turned to social media in a bid to appeal for witnesses.

In an emotional post on Facebook, which has been shared over 1,000 times, Debbie said: “Liam was punched in the face so hard that his jaw was fractured in three places. He was taken out of the club with his jaw hanging. This is a serious injury and has left him in tremendous pain. He has had a three-hour operation and three plates fitted and can only eat liquid food for a month and no sports for three months, which is a big part of his life.”

She continued: “No-one deserves to get punched this hard by anyone. The surgeon said two inches higher and he would have had brain damage from the force of this punch.”

And she added: “No-one seems to have seen this happen, but surely someone did. We want to find the person who did this and stop him from doing it again; maybe the next victim won’t be so lucky as Liam.”

Speaking to the Observer this week, Liam described the incident as ‘life-changing.’

“I really can’t do very much at all at the moment. I am getting my speech back, but I will have to live on soups until at least the start of May when I have a follow-up appointment at the hospital.

“I just hope someone out there saw something and will have the heart to come forward, no matter how small they think the piece of information is,” he added.

When contacted by the Observer, a police spokeswoman said: “Police are investigating and are appealing to anyone who witnessed the incident or anyone with any information to contact them by calling 101.”