A Manx student unwittingly caught up in Liverpool riots ended up having his jaw broken in two places after he was struck by a thug.

Port Erin man Brandon-Lee Jones is studying games, art and animation at the SAE Institute in the city and was heading down to the Pier Head to skateboard when he found himself between two groups of protestors.

Riots erupted across the UK following the deaths of three young girls - Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine - in Southport on July 29 at the hands of a lone knifeman as they took part in a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. Eight more children and two adults were injured.

There were ugly scenes in Liverpool on August 3 when protests turned violent on Pier Head before rioting broke out in Walton.

Brandon, 20, only realised too late he was stuck in the middle of anti-immigration protestors and counter protestors. Brandon felt he had to step in when one elderly woman in the counter protest group was surrounded by an angry mob.

He said: ‘I found myself in between the two groups. Tensions grew and I could see the aggression in the anti-immigration group rising. I was not even aware a protest was taking place that day.

‘The police began to take action and I realised I was stuck. I was kettled towards the counter protestors but they were outnumbered five to one.

‘The anti-immigration group closed in from the back and surrounded the counter protestors. The anti-immigration lot began throwing bottles and cans. Someone even threw a chair.’

Brandon tried to leave the area but was blocked in and the aggression was growing. It was at this point he noticed one elderly lady, who was one of the counter protestors, looked to be in trouble.

Brandon said: ‘The anti-immigration protestors were getting in the face of the others. This elderly woman with a megaphone had been leading the chants and she was surrounded by a group in balaclavas.

‘I stood between them and asked them to calm down and move back. She was a small, elderly lady.

‘It was at this point someone wearing a balaclava came from the side and struck me in the jaw, breaking it in two places. I was spitting blood for 25-30 minutes.

‘The elderly lady gave me some water and thanks me for stepping in. Those nearby also checked to see if I had lost any teeth as I couldn’t feel anything.’

Brandon waited for everything to calm down but after an hour and a half he made his way to Albert Dock and away from the protests before heading back home to Birkenhead.

He said: ‘My fear was getting attacked again. If I was hit again my jaw would have shattered into a thousand pieces.’

He went to a local medical centre who helped him book a taxi to Aintree Hospital where the extent of his injuries were outlined.

Brandon ended up undergoing five hours of surgery and stayed in hospital for five days.

He said: ‘I do not believe the guy who assaulted me was arrested and the chances of finding him are very slim among all the chaos.

‘I had a check-up this week and I should make close to a full recovery but my jaw will be weaker.

‘I was on a liquid diet for two weeks and now I’m living off noodles and Weetabix. I won’t be eating toffee any time soon!

‘But I felt I had to step in. The woman was there for a peaceful protest and didn’t deserve to suffer all that aggression.

‘Obviously, my family are glad I am making a recovery but I won’t be attended any protests for a while. My mum would kill me. But everyone is proud of what I did and have been very supportive.’

A number of police officers were injured in the Liverpool riots which lasted for 12 hours. There was also disorder across the country for two weeks afterwards in areas such as Manchester, Hull, Belfast, Rotherham and Bristol.