A COURAGEOUS dad spoke about the horrifying moment when he was stabbed in the face by a crazed racist. Dad-of-two Michael Ogunleye, from Kilburn, was crossing a road in front of the Emirates Stadium in Highbury, when he was knifed in the face, racially ab

A COURAGEOUS dad spoke about the horrifying moment when he was stabbed in the face by a crazed racist.

Dad-of-two Michael Ogunleye, from Kilburn, was crossing a road in front of the Emirates Stadium in Highbury, when he was knifed in the face, racially abused and spat at without warning in a suspected road rage attack.

Ten days on, as detectives this week released CCTV images in the hope of snaring the knifeman, the door-to-door salesman is back at work having had stitches in his left cheek.

His attacker is still at large

Mr Ogunleye said: "I remember he came towards me and I had about a second and a half to react. He said: 'You black ****', stabbed me in the face and ran off. At first I didn't really feel anything. I just thought he had punched me.

"I tried to give chase, but then I realised blood was pouring out of the left side of my face. It was a heavy spray. I staggered to the side of the road and two ladies who saw what happened came over to help."

Then he was rushed to hospital for surgery on his face. Mr Ogunleye is recovering but the wound is likely to cause him permanent problems.

He cannot understand what he did to deserve being stabbed.

"I work with the public and I have been racially abused before, but I've never been physically attacked.

"I was on the zebra crossing when a car came towards me beeping excessively. I turned to see what was going on and the guy drove at me then pulled up beside alongside and wound down the window.

"He was shouting: 'You black ****' so I told him to p**s off. Then he spat in my face so I spat back and he said: 'Right, wait right there' and sped off.

"I didn't think much of it and continued to walk along Benwell Road, but when I got to the top of the road he jumped out of his car, ran between two parked cars and before I knew it he had gone for me.

"The doctors say I will have a permanent scar on my face and the muscles in my cheek are going to be permanently damaged which will make it hard to move the left side of my face."

The knifeman is white, in his late 20s, about 5ft 6in, stocky with short dark hair. He drove a silver A Class Mercedes with two kids in the back and spoke with a northern accent.