Polish man assaulted in Highworth dies (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Polish man assaulted in Highworth dies

THE Polish teenager assaulted in Highworth last weekend died in hospital shortly after midday last Wednesday.

Michael Zajac spent four days in intensive care at the Radcliffe Infirmary after suffering severe head injuries.

Now his father has spoken of the devastation their son's death has caused his family.

The 19-year-old was allegedly assaulted outside The Fishes Inn in Swindon Street during the early hours of last Sunday morning.

He was taken to Great Western Hospital in Swindon before being transferred to the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford, where he died last Wednesday afternoon.

The two teenagers from the Highworth area arrested on Tuesday and Wednesday last week have been released on police bail.

Wiltshire police have now launched a murder investigation.

Mr Zajac, who was from Derby, had a temporary job at the Honda car plant in Swindon. He had only been working there for one day.

His father, Andrzej, who had also been working at the factory, has spoken of how his son made it back to his family before collapsing.

He said: "We were staying in a room above a pub and my son had gone out at about midnight to get something to eat from a pizzeria.

"When he returned, he had injuries to the back of his head and he was in a very excited state.

"He left the room and about a minute later I heard a thud outside in the corridor. I went to look and found Michael collapsed at the bottom of some small stairs. I carried him into the room and put him on the bed.

"After some time he started foaming at the mouth and he was losing his breath."

Mr Zajac said that doctors told him the injuries were so severe they could not have been caused by the fall.

The teenager lived with his parents in the Hilton area of Derby and had come to England in October.

His father said that his son had been hoping to raise enough money to enrol on a computer studies course at university.

"We've lost our only child and the pain we feel inside is so big. It is a pain that will last a long time into the future," Mr Zajac said.

"He had come to England for a better future and he loved its people. Michael's passion was computers - he wanted to become an IT technician."