A dad is still unable to speak a year on from a brutal unprovoked attack that left him needing half his skull removed.

Ashley Rogers, 29, had been walking home from a night out with his twin brother and a group of friends, when they were viciously beaten in Margate' s Dane Park.

After nearly 12 months in hospital, he is still paralysed down his left side, unable to speak, and possibly unable to see.

Hoping he might soon be able to return home, his family have raised thousands of pounds to help buy Ashley a specially-adapted wheelchair.

His mum Fiona Shewring, from Acol near Birchington, describes Ashley as a sensitive man who adored his friends and family.

Before the senseless attack last summer, the former Whitstable Community College pupil lived in Friends Avenue, Margate, with his mirror image twin, Ben.

He loved being outdoors, playing football and supporting Arsenal and Millwall.

A carpenter by trade, he often picked up bar shifts at Margate Winter Gardens, where his mum works.

"The most precious thing in his world is his daughter," said Fiona, 54. "She's two-and-a-half.

"He was very outgoing - he loved his mates. He'd do anything for them, do anything to help anybody.

"Him and Ben had never ever been apart."

But in the early hours of August 31 last year, both twins were attacked while walking through Dane Park.

"Ash came off worse," said his mum. "They dragged Ashley one way, Ben another. They were both knocked out.

"Ben came round and spent most of the next few hours looking for Ashley but the park is big and it's not lit at night."

Fiona recalls rushing to meet her sons at Margate's QEQM hospital that morning.

"It's horrendous to see both your boys beaten like that," she said.

Ashley was promptly airlifted to King's College Hospital in London, where he was immediately rushed to theatre.

Surgeons removed 45% of his skull, to take away the pressure on his brain caused by swelling.

While exact details of the attack are unknown, one specialist has suggested Ashley's head may have been stamped on several times.

After several months at King's College, including two months in a coma, Ashley was moved to the Kent & Canterbury Hospital, then to the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability in Putney.

Ashley has encountered several serious setbacks, including developing hydrocephalus - water on the brain - and meningitis.

But on Tuesday, almost a year after he was first admitted, he was finally discharged from hospital.

Fiona, who had regularly been taking trains to visit him in London, says she is "very grateful" he is finally being looked after nearby, at Strode Park care home in Herne Bay.

But Ashley's road to recovery remains long and uncertain.

"He's not able to do an awful lot, sadly," said Fiona.

"He will give you the thumbs up, thumbs down, wave. He loves an arm wrestle. If you ask him, he'll touch his nose, his eyes."

The family's hopes are resting on a cranioplasty - a surgical procedure that will see a titanium plate inserted to help rebuild Ashley's skull, which could help him to regain his faculties.

But the operation has unfortunately been cancelled several times, due to pressure on theatres amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

"There is a 50% chance that when the cranioplasty happens, things might suddenly be propped into place," said his mum.

"At the moment he's so fragile, with half his brain hanging out the top of his head. Even a slight knock and that's it, he's gone.

"That's the reason why we can't have him at home. He needs specialist care because his brain wouldn't take another bleed."

Fiona says the attack has had a profound effect upon the whole family.

"My heart broke so many times you would not believe," she said.

"It's had a phenomenal effect on Ben. He relives that nightmare on a regular basis.

"But he is better now than he was. The more he sees Ashley, the more he's coming to terms with it."

Mystery still shrouds the night of the attack but Fiona says she is firmly focused on the future.

"Even if they catch somebody and put them away, that's not going to change what's happened," she said.

"It's not going to change Ashley; it's not going to change the horrendous year the whole family has had.

"I'm a true believer in karma. Whoever did it has to live with this. And if they don't care about what they did, then one day karma will happen."

A police spokesman confirmed the investigation into the attack was continuing and an arrest had been made.

"Kent Police is continuing to investigate a serious assault which took place in Margate in August last year," he said.

"As part of the ongoing investigation, a man in his 20s from Margate was arrested on Tuesday, July 28 and has since been released under investigation.

"I want him to be as comfortable as I can possibly make him. I want to give him the best quality of life I possibly can."

"Following previous appeals, officers are renewing their request to anyone with any information to call Kent Police on 01843 222289, quoting reference 46/167713/19."

People can also contact independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555111.

Meanwhile, Ashley's family has launched a fundraiser to help buy him a specially adapted wheelchair, in hope he will be able to return home once his cranioplasty has been carried out.

In just two days, it has smashed through their initial target of £2,000 and now sits at more than £3,400.

"Hopefully after the cranioplasty there are going to be other bits of equipment that can help him, like frames and computers to help him talk properly," said his mum.

"I want him to be as comfortable as I can possibly make him. I want to give him the best quality of life I possibly can."

To donate to the fundraiser, click here .

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