Blinded On A Night Out Unprovoked In Leeds - Matt Syron 

The man who did this cowardly act only got 10 years! He should never be allowed out of prison, he has a history 15 other violent crimes.

This is why I don't go out anymore, it's always a bad vibe in my opinion. Feels demonic and evil it's hard to explain. I'd rather go out for a nice meal, have a few pints and then go home and drink at home with friends.

Was attacked and stabbed on my left wrist in Jan 2024, now disabled hand. But after watching him, I’m perfectly 100% now. Will pray for you. Thanks for this.

Poor guy. In 1996 I was attacked by 10 guys I never knew for no reason what so ever. I was punched and kicked in the head and all over my body repeatedly. I then had to go for a brain scan because of headaches and terrible panic attacks.i fell mentally ill for 6 months because of it. Never left my home for 6 to 8 months after. There are some evil people in this world

Alcohol,cocaine and a massive mental health problem makes weekends in pubs and clubs a dangerous place.

Incredibly strong bloke to tell his story so well.

The guy who glassed him should pay him money forever..

This leaves me cold. That someone’s life can be irreparably destroyed because of some drunk high lunatic.

American here, I am with you brother. I will gladly donate to help you out! Donation done, brother, so much love from 🇺🇸

What a guy, what a great attitude. I pray you receive your eyesight back!

The attacker should never be released from prison, full life sentence no chance of parol, that is what he deserves for taking an innocent mans vision away forever, his sentence is a joke

As someone who is Registered Blind, but not fully blind, there is amazing technology out there which can support you through day to day life! I was diagnosed at the age of 7, and now 40 technology is amazing!

The man who attacked this poor guy should have already been in prison, not in a position to harm anyone else. The justice system in the uk is truly broken and does nothing to protect the innocents

Absolutely disgusting what happened to this lad, they should lock the bloke that did it up and throw away the key.

What an absolute soldier and strong man, inspiring.

An eye for an eye needs to be applied here. Revenge. People without empathy need to be taught.

Just the phrase ‘stitches in my eye’ is fucking brutal. Really wish you all the best.

This recently happened to a friend at work but instead of using a glass he was punched repeatedly while unconscious. He is still in a coma to this day. The thug that did this got 9 years so will probably do 4 and a half. F the justice system. Edit: For anyone still interested, my friend didn’t make it due to severe brain damage. The thug now has to serve 11 years so basically 5. “11 years and three months after admitting grievous bodily harm with intent and common assault.”

I was once unprovokly attacked with a flying glass bottle which hit me on the bone under my eyebrow! Then the bottle followed down into my eye! I ended up losing about 20% of vision in my eye! I dont realise how lucky i actually am until i come across Matts unfortunate horrific situation. Praying for Matt, hope he gets some vision back! 🙏

My heart goes out to this man

I started partying when I was 16 living in Mexico in a beach vacation town called Pto Vallarta. Drinking and nightlife was literally a daily activity. That and lots of stupid and dangerous scenarios. I thank god I made the decision to stop drinking & quit nightlife when I was 23. I have been sober ever since. I am sure I dogged many bullets in my life. I hope this man gets the help he needs and gets his vision back. This guy is a real trooper.

Damn. Only 4 minutes in and already crying. How terrified he must have been. Praying for you mate.

Brave lad. I lost my right eye on a building site when i was in my mid twenties and thought it was the end of the world. I was an army boxer and wanted to pursue it when i got out but got involved in drinking a lot and went down hill after that. Unironically, the drink, alcohol, NOTHING GOOD comes from it and i would advise anyone young to stay away from the drink culture especially in the uk because there's too many tossers in those bars and clubs under the influence. God Bless and i wish you all the best buddy.

This keeps coming up on my feed. Just the title alone is too heartbreaking for me to even watch it. Much love brother.

Same thing happened to me in 2006 (aged 27) East London. The reason I think is because I was going out with a Polish girl who was with me at the time. 2 of her fellow countrymen didn't take too kindly to it. Pint glass straight into my face out of the blue. Thank god I come out of the situatuon with just a few stitches on the right side of my nose, next to my right eye. The scar isn't even noticeable today. But watching this has made feel sick just thinking about the whole thing again and how bad things could have turned out.

I feel that a lot of people in the comments section are avoiding the main issue here, which is the utter failure of the criminal justice system. Nearly every one of these violent ciminals have an extensive track record of past violent crimes, yet the criminal justice system continues to fail our society by giving them inadequate jail terms, and not properly establishing whether they still pose a risk before they are let out. Let's acknowledge something here: a lot of crimes are commited by the same people over and over again. This is something that is also glossed over when violence against women is discussed by the feminists - they totally ignore that the crimes are being commited by a relatively small number of people, and push a toxic narrative instead. The man who did this was well into his 30s - not some teenager who couldn't handle his drink. Yes, alcohol is not exactly a peace promoting drug. But it's not any better or worse than it has always been. These glassing incidents are not new, unfortunately. A lot of people with power and influence are quite often either very liberal or out of touch with the real word - even the ones who claim to be conservative. People can make their own minds up about this - just don't be deluded into thinking lots of individuals are commiting violent crime. It's often the same people.

I was 17 years old, it was the debut performance of my band at the Roseland Theater in Portland. We played our set at the battle of the bands, rocked the house. Afterwards, I was outside with fans. Getting pictures, signing things. It was small but it felt like the real thing, a kid with a dream that seemed to be coming true. Then a member of one of the other bands came up and asked me for a picture, I said sure and as he slid in close to come next to me for the photo, he brutally headbutted me in the face. I had to have reconstructive surgery and it led to all sorts of ongoing health issues, TBI, seizures, and social anxiety. I experienced a lot of trouble about the injustice. I cant imagine that same sort of life altering situation, how it must be for our brother Matthew here. Not only the hurt and the loss of vision but the injustice of knowing that the monster responsible got away with it.

Well done James paying for the flights, the fact that you’re going to reimburse his flights into his go fund which will support his family, well done, even this podcast is raising awareness and supporting others 🙏

As a person who lost my sight by age 40 my heart go's out to this lad. There are no words to discribe thing that did this. I sincerly hope he can recover enough sight to be able to see his children. There is an awful lot of reasearch going on right now related to restoring sight via the visual crtex of the brain and the speed at which technology is moving, and his age there is a very real chance that in his lifetime they will achieve restoration to such a digree that people will have real sight so don't give up mate,

This is why I buy my alcohol, and drink it by myself at home alone.

The coward who attacked him was probably jealous cos he’s seen a good looking, fit young guy who was probably being eyed up by the females and he wanted to ruin his looks.

Flipping heck. That was a hard watch. Well done James for doing it and wishing Matt all the best and a successful outcome eventually.

This is unbelievable. Really praying for this guy. I've had this happen to me at a club before. Got blind sided. Woke up in the hospital. It's so fucked up, honestly. Praying for Matt

And this is exactly why i dont ever ever go to nightclubs, bars whatever there called. Born and bred in uk but ive seen too much stories like this on Crimewatch since the 1990's to risk it.

Hit me like a tonne of bricks this, it’s really helped put things into perspective. Hope he can recover from this. Thanks for sharing.

WTF is wrong with some people in this country?….Beating up and blinding an innocent man in a totally unprovoked attack is absolutely disgusting. Hope the animal who did this stays locked up and the powers that be throw away the key. I’m so sorry to see what has happened to this poor guy, it’s heartbreaking.

I feel for you man. Unfortunately this is the mentality in the uk. I've had numerous unprovoked attacks having had glass bottles smashed over the back of my head and sucker punched a few times. I've also had a couple of friends die from being knocked out and hitting thier heads on the floor. It's crazy how you can go for a few drinks with your friends and end up injured or dead. It's just not worth it.

This was really heart-breaking, have donated a small amount. Really hope you see some positive developments mate.

The world has become visibly demon infested since 2020. People have lost their minds and souls. Praying for Matt.

Fellow Christians, pray for this man.

Obviously you can’t read this message at the moment but you’re such a courageous individual for enduring this despicable act of unnecessary aggression and standing up again strong. It’s inspirational to me that you continue working towards your milestones to achieve your goals. I pray you regain a good and useful percentage of your former sight. With modern surgical techniques and your courage I can’t imagine anyone else more easily achieving this other than you. I’m also struggling with eye health relatively young and understand a very small amount of your pain. Thank you for sharing your story.

Absolute cowards and absolutely for nothing, my son experienced someone drunk on the night of the fury usek fight, and someone tried to do the same to him for no reason luckily my son managed to deal with it and when the guy was in a hold on the floor almost crying saying don’t hurt me, he talked to him and let him up for him to try and glass him again, that was Leeds as well. During COVID I ended up getting life changing injuries from a infection from shin splints ulcers, unfortunately you have to try and accept things as they are as quick as possible hopefully you get some improvement or change in the situation, your life absolutely changes, and when that is done absolutely by some drunken fool, all power to Matthew, great effort James and remaining positive energy is the key but very hard at times, it’s your personality that will carry you through even sometimes a dark joke, all the best brother

This is why I never go out it's ridiculous, some people just don't know how to be in society or going out and have fun, but to create problems.

Your a warrior Matthew to come on here and talk about this takes alot man hats off to you

As someone who has many years ago been in hundreds fights and scraps, when working doors in pubs and clubs in northern England and Scotland over period of 8 years, I find this lad unimaginable unlucky. Despite of being a big tall guy, I’ve been attacked with bottles, glasses, fists, pipes. Got in trouble with some nasty people. But other than getting some battle scars on my face I managed to stay unharmed. My heart goes out to this lad. I hope the attacker will get some serious prison time. Good luck!

I clicked on this video because it mentioned this happend in leeds. This brings back the awful memories of the night my late husband was jumped by a group of glue sniffers outside a pub in Leeds one night back in the 1980's. At least one of them was wielding a bike chain that left my husband with a gash running through his eyebrow onto forehead. It was pure luck that it did not hit his eyes & that the police were close by otherwise it could of been much. worse. I hope things work out well for Matt & that he gets his eyes sight back and his life back to normal soon.

I had a guy slice my face open with a broken beer bottle at a party in college and nearly missed my eye. Crazy how the trajectory of my life came down to inches

Matt is the man. A brave soldier moving forward courageously. Wish him the best for his treatments. To the host, let's get a follow in some time.

What a really good podcast that was James...It was a very tough listen...but so honest and no doubt it will help many people....my heart goes out to Matt and his family... Sometimes we don't know how lucky we are... you are such an inspiration Matt...and a voice for many others too...thank you for sharing your story

never let your guard down even on a night out. especially if you’re at a bar/pub you’ve never been to before. i almost always go to local pubs and bars close to me and never get too drunk to the point that i can’t be aware of my surroundings and if i’m at a pub/bar i’ve never been in always pace my drinks and have eyes like a hawk looking around. always better to be paranoid and come off a little odd than to be too lax and end up blind or maimed. all sympathies go to Matthew, no one deserves to go through something as horrific as that. i hope his story can serve as a sobering reminder of how truly dark our world can be.

Stories like this keeps me in check, in so many different ways, when i complain about certain things atleast i im in a healthy state, an its a reminder to avoid drama as much as possible cos there's always someone with something to Prove. Respect to this guy for being strong !

Seriously praying that Matthew can regain his vision. An inspirational man, whose positivity is incredible. I’m 28 years old, and used to be a regular at nightclubs and bars. The final straw for me was when I saw four separate altercations on the same night. They all involved groups of lads who were clearly on drugs, or just totally drunk, causing trouble. The nightlife scenery nowadays just attracts all the wrong kind of people. People who are out to cause trouble and nothing more. Stay away from these places. Praying for Matthew🙏🏼

I was attatcked on a night out when I was 23. I was charged at by about 10 hooligans throwing glass bottles at me. One of the main guys was the brother of a girl I dated and was targeting me. I ran. I ran down stairs in the bar, behind the counter and hid. I waited till they were gone and then ran home. Since that day I never went out at night without constantly looking over my shoulders. Suffered stress for the first time in my life, waking up at night in sweats. He told my firends if he sees me again Im dead. Now Im 45. I moved away from my home town, I still think about it regularly, I think should I have fought, am I a coward. Did I do the right thing or the wrong thing running as those glass bottles were hitting me on the back of my head and back.

My god this makes my heart skip beats when I think about putting myself into this guy's position. Nothing I can say can help this guy. Not a big believer in god but I really do hope some higher power out there can shine some light on this guy. Hang in there brother and let your family and loved one's drive you and keep you on the right path.

Just donated. Thanks for raising awareness. What an awful thing to happen to such a nice chap. Hope he and his family can get the support he needs.

Now, here is one of the most impressive and inspiring lads I have ever heard in my long life. I will be thinking of him often, as he continues his ongoing battles.

I had anxiety watching this the whole way through and it made me want to cry multiple times. I feel so angry and sorry for him. I got some weird condition in my eye in 2022 called CSR and I’ve never felt stress and anxiety like it. When your vision is being effected its so much worst than you can imagine. I can’t explain how grateful I am that I managed to get rid of the condition somehow and my eye sight is back to normal now if not better. Praying that he gets his vision back in time too.

Terrible awful what reason? Alcohol is demonic.Sending love to you Matt..Don't you worry Lad that sub human will get his Justice, sending blessings

I quit drinking years ago. But if I ever did drink, Id do it at home with friends. People ARE INSANE. I Don't want to die, or have to kill someone else.

Signed and shared, and yeah, this one is a tough listen, makes you feel physically sick

They guy who glassed him should be forced to donate his eyes to this guy and stay blind himself for the rest of his life

Dear Matt, You're a true credit to yourself and inspiration for others. Keep up the good fight mate 👍

Donated to the fundraiser. Thankyou for motivating us that even in a bad situation you still carry on the way you do.

My heart breaks for this man. A horrendous thing to go through even if not made blind. It's depressing to think people capable of this are out there. Love to you brother.

Praying for strength to get through your treatments and for future healing! Stick in Matt!

Enter a night out at your own risk! The world is a shitty place.

This is so upsetting. I really hope the doctors can save some more of his sight.

I’m sorry to hear this, stay strong and continue being a great Father 💚❤️💚

Wow some really evil people out there

Hope Matthew can get his sight back 🙏 Absolute heartbreaking that some complete cretin has done this to him. Glad the guy was caught.

They guy who glassed him should pay him money forever..

Brave and likeable guy. Is this the British culture that we reflect on, pubs and alcohol as a focus for socialising?

sending positive energy to you Matt...

Nothing but the best to Matt, you are incredibly strong and I wish to be as positive as you mate.

This video popped up during a real tough time , possibly will be evicted from my apartment due to falling behind on a bill. Hearing this guys story really put life into perspective. Ill take the advice, it coukd always be worse and to take it day by day. I hope this guy regains his eyesight,sending my prayers from the states.

I'm in my thirties and have never been on a night out because of scum that do awful things like this. They should throw away the key and let him rot. I have a nephew who has been blind since he was 6 months old due to a rare form of eye cancer. It wasn't much of a change for him as he was so young, it's pretty much all he's ever known. This must be so difficult to adjust too, seeing for all them years for it to be taken from you just like that.. What makes it worse is the POS that has done this to you is supposed to be a full grown man at 37? Praying for you and your family brother, stay strong!

Do not even want to think about it, What a strong man ! Wishes of good recovery , and that you can go back to your family soon !

This is heartbreaking. Thank you for sharing your story. Really hoping all the best for you.

I’ve been in pubs in Leeds where they only serve drinks in plastic glasses, but those pubs are danger zones. You can guarantee that they took the step to go to plastic glasses due to some terrible prior incidents. If I am given a beer in a plastic glass I’m walking straight out.

What a great guy you are Matt. Wishing the absolute best for you and your family.

So annoying how someone can take so much from another person… It’s disgusting… James, great interview. I would just suggest to dig into “active listening”. It improves communication, enhances empathy and encourages openness, etc. It would really benefit interviews like this 😊 best of luck!

Hope that animal has a tough time in prison.

Hey...gentlemen, thank you ever so much for sharing your stories and message.. I had a bad day and evening...completely shifted my mentality and brought me to gratitude and this empowering..I would be happy to give reiki healing to your eyes brother. 💚🙏💚 I send you love and healing. Take care, wishing you all the best. Thank you

Wow Matt I’m so so sorry to hear about this stay strong 💪, I’m Irish and living in oz also , I was glassed over here 2yrs ago , ur right eye is the same as my left all of it is gone and iv also had 5 operations on it and another one in July , doctor told me I might wake up without my eye on my first operation , all I could think of is my kids and till this day I can’t see much at all and scars all over my forehead ect , all going the the courts and he’s pleads not guilty and was even barred from the pub , no sports no gym as much as I used to it’s horrible , I no how u feel and I’m sorry

I was glassed about 35 years ago i seen it comeing and got out the way. It did get me but no were near what happened to you . Plus my uncle battered him when he seen me bleeding from my head.

9mins in and I’m absolutely devastated for this bloke. He has such a good vibe from the sound of he’s voice. This week I had to pull apart an old gas line that had to be replaced. I couldn’t find my safety glasses, I looked and looked and still couldn’t find it in my van. Anyways I ended up picking up the grinder and started to cut the old gas line. I felt some stuff fly in my face, then after I got down the ladder I felt like my eye was irritated. so I went to the tap straight away and started to wash my eyes incase there was something there. It felt fine, but later on it felt a tiny bit irritated. I called up an optometrist which was around the corner from where I was working and they got me in straight away. Long story short my eye was fine and they didn’t find anything. They put an orange dye and scoped it with this blue light. The guy found an eye lash at the back of my eye. He pulled it out and my eye felt so much better. I felt so grateful of this. Knowing nothing serious occurred. Ever since then I told my self I’ll wear safety glasses even if I’m not cutting. But this video reminds me how anything can happen in a split second. And it’s scary. I send blessings upon blessings to this bloke. I hope a miracle will have him to see again.

They say to me why am I an introvert why do I stay indoors it's because society scares me alot of mad mental savage feral angry people about just looking to start something for no reason. I avoid many nightclubs and bars now you get the worst lot of people in those environments.

Heart breaking, just gutting this is. So much evil about, and it's spiriutal, the devil is busy and knows his time is short, I pray protection over us all 🙏

Even tho the circumstance, Matt is showing a lot of strength, its very inspiring.

Can't even go out for a drink anymore without watching your back 24/7 it's becoming a joke, absolutely shocking what's happened I've said a prayer for you mate hope you make a full recovery ❤

Stopped me in my tracks this story, hard to even imagine what this guy has been through. So so good to hear that the perpetrator was caught

Its not safe for the police to go out today never mind us people worlds gone crazy full of evil

I’m 48 and vividly recall watching the aftermath of a glassing in a suburban pub in south Manchester when I was 17. As other people on here have commented - we now have another layer of violent 💩 on nights out in the form of widespread casual cocaine use. If I go out - I tend to look for venues that have more of a ‘hipster’ vibe as they tend to be frequented by nicer people - not coked-up steroidal mutants.

What a brave, amazing and inspiring man. II truly hope he regains his sight. He deserves a great future and I wish him all the best 🙏🏻

Sucker punching someone with a glass is beyond cowardly, also Unprovoked, why would someone do that, must have serious mental issues.

Absolute horror, what is wrong with some people. Poor guy, a long time in treatment ahead.. physical and mental. I wish Matthew and his family the best. Best wishes everyone.

I had never seen this channel or known about you both before, but I am glad this happened. Matt's strength is incredibly inspiring. Wishing you all the best, mate!

Mate i feel sorry for myself at times thinking how hard life is then i come across this story and it makes me realise how people dont even know what hard is .truly sorry what happend to you matthew .i realy hope things come good mate and u get somehow bk to how u was before this tragic incident .stay strong and stay positive

This makes me sick, When I was 18, I was beaten up in a completely unprovoked attack, deviated septum, fractured cheekbone, fat lip, black eyes, nothing compared to this guy I know, I’m praying for this guy and I sincerely hope the “people” that are responsible for this end up doing serious time.

This story unlocks so many fears for me I almost cannot watch it, but force myself out of just genuine sense of compassion for Matthew. This is why I will never go out to pubs or clubs again, too much evil and dangerous people out there. I just hope and pray gets as much sight as possible back and Is able to live as close to a normal life as possible back. Also if needed, W.E.T might one day even be a possibility in his lifetime, with the progress they are making. Only probably as futuristic as a heart transplant was 50years ago. Wishing you all the best and love to you and your family.