This is the shocking moment a British fitness enthusiast was viciously attacked at a Thai gym after refusing to give up his bench press.
CCTV footage showed Gary Reed, 46, from Hastings, East Sussex, exercising on a bench press in Pattaya, Thailand on May 17 when an angry fitness enthusiast rushed over claiming He has been waiting to use the device.
Mr Reed told his fellow Brits he wanted to finish his set – and his furious companions seemed to accept a compromise.
Brit Gary Reed, 46, was brutally attacked by dumbbells on CCTV in Pattaya
Mr Reid needed 60 stitches, suffered a fractured right eye socket and a retinal hemorrhage in the brutal May 17 attack
But moments later, he returned with a 7-inch, 1-kilogram metal dumbbell bar and punched Mr. Reed in the face.
Mr Reed then hobbled away before facing the brutal attacker – before the pair wrestled on camera.
Speaking at the hospital today, Gary said he needed 60 stitches following the alleged attack.
He also suffered a fractured right eye socket, a retinal hemorrhage and required a CT scan to check for brain damage.
Gary said: “There was no queue to use the equipment, so I just lay on the bench and started lifting weights as usual.
The video begins with an angry fitness fan rushing in claiming he’s been waiting to use the equipment Mr Reed is using
After the strike, the pair scuffled together under the watchful eyes of CCTV cameras and others in the gym
“You can see in the video that my weight is always on the side of the bench, which basically means I’m still using it.
“Then this guy just walked over and said he wanted to use the bench press. I was like ‘Man, let me finish, I’ll finish it in two minutes’ but he didn’t. There were other people who could use it, so I think he was looking fighting.
“I kept working out and he came at me from behind like a coward and hit me hard on the head.
“In my case, he could have killed me. If you hit someone on the head with a hammer, it’s like attempted murder.
“It was a big piece of metal, almost as heavy as a hammer. I was lucky it didn’t knock me out.
Gary said the attackers lunged at him as they allegedly tried to continue the attack at the Coco Fitness gym.
After being hit in the face, Gary jumped off the bench press and took cover while the foreigner hit him continuously.
The argument lasted nearly a minute before Gary locked him in a bear hug. The attackers then fled on foot.
Gary has already paid 25,000 baht (£579) in medical bills, which could rise if he needs surgery and more treatment.
He added: “The guy was still trying to hit me but I was strong enough to overwhelm him and he kicked it with his leg.
“I was left with a huge hospital bill so he needs to pay it. I hope the police catch him so he can’t do it to other people.
The Brit went to the police to lodge a complaint and was taken to hospital with 60 stitches around his right eye to get a medical certificate. Police are now looking for a suspect.
He wants his attacker to pay for his medical bills for the attack
Police Lieutenant Khunthum Khantiwong said: “We have obtained the identity of the attacker from the gym’s membership log and encouraged him to cooperate so he can also explain his position.
“If he doesn’t turn himself in, we’ll find him and he’ll be questioned about the attack on CCTV footage.”
Following the incident, the attacker’s gym membership has now been terminated. Police declined to provide the man’s identity during the investigation.
Pattaya, a city on Thailand’s east coast, is known for its 24/7 nightlife and bustling sex industry, so it’s known as the modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah or Sin City.
It attracts millions of tourists every year as well as Britons looking to retire there.
