A WEST Dorset student with heart and hearing problems is lucky to be alive today after being brutally beaten by a gang for just £3.

Victim James Granger, 21, of Martinstown, suffered broken ribs, a bloody eye and severe bruising when he was attacked by a group of 15 young thugs near his halls of residence at Cardiff University.

The gang also ripped off a false ear he wears after being born without a real one, and they kicked him around his chest, which is held together by wire after a childhood operation.

Mr Granger, who is a former volunteer at the Joseph Weld Hospice in Dorchester, is recovering at home today after being released from hospital in Wales.

The drama unfolded when slightly-built Mr Granger and two friends took a short break from exam revision for a walk along the banks of the River Taff, near Blackweir.

Mr Granger said: "I was walking back towards the Talybont halls of residence when a group of 10 to 15 blokes came down on to the cycle path.

"I was walking through them when one hit me in the face. I fell to the floor and they started kicking and punching me."

Psychology student Mr Granger, who is 5ft 10in and weighs nine stone, underwent a vicious battering for five minutes while the gang demanded that his friends empty their pockets.

He suffered severe bruising to his head, face, neck, hands and arms, two broken ribs and a haemorrhage to his eye. Police found his false ear at the scene of the attack.

The thugs stole his wallet - containing £3, a passport and driving licence - and a friend's mobile phone.

His mother Sarah, who is married to former mechanic Terence, said: "James could have been killed.

"He had a congenital heart defect and underwent surgery at the age of 12, which left his chest held together with wires.

"He was being kicked in the chest and head. Considering his past medical history, he is lucky to be alive."

Mr Granger needs to have a new false ear constructed and is to see a specialist about injuries to the side of his head where the last one was ripped off.

He wears a prosthetic device because he was born without a real ear - leaving him only able to hear from his good ear.

He is planning to return to university in September but will now not be able to work this summer.

Police in Cardiff have launched an inquiry.