Photos of the Year 2013
The man was attacked in a Birmingham kebab shop by an angry beggar Reuters

A man was stabbed and blinded by a beggar in a takeaway shop for not handing the homeless man any money.

The beggar first asked for a cigarette in the street before the beggar following the unnamed victim into the kebab shop where he requested money.

The 25-year-old intended on eating a meal in Spices with a friend in Winson Green, Birmingham, when the beggar began to pester the pair for money.

The man refused to hand him money for the sixth time before the beggar attacked with a weapon, digging it into his right eye.

Detective Constable Sharon Duncan, from West Midlands Police, said: "The beggar approached the two men on five or six occasions and, even though they offered to buy him food, he kept asking for cash.

"Finally he struck one of the men in his left eye with an unknown object."

She continued: "The young man was rushed to hospital, where he had to undergo surgery.

"His eye was saved, but unfortunately he has lost the sight in it."

Police are appealing for witnesses of the attack which occurred on 5 December.