Archie Hannah suffered a broken shoulder and severe bruising on his chest and back in the assault.

The pensioner is now calling for police patrols to be stepped up in the area and for tougher sentences for the "thugs" who carry out attacks.

He said: "Parents don't seem to know where their children are or don't care.

"I think National Service needs to be brought back in to give them the discipline they need."

Mr Hannah, who lives in Northstead, says he had been out for a drink and had then gone back a friend's home. "It was very late when I got dropped back off, about 2am," he added.

"I went to take a short cut down the steps which go between the Glen and the cemetery near the roundabout at the top of Dean Road.

"I know it was late but you still don't expect to be set upon in this way."

The retired fisherman is originally from Falkirk and came to Scarborough to work with the herring fleet in 1957. "It was a hard life and I'm no stranger to tough men but they were different times and you would never hear about pensioners getting beaten up," he said.

"I definitely think more visible policing would help. Nowadays you only see policemen in cars or in vans, or if you're lucky enough you might see one on a bike, but you hardly ever see them walking about on their beat."

Mr Hannah did two years' National Service with the Royal Scots from 1955 to 1957 and said military life would benefit the kind of people who attacked him. "I know I'm getting on a bit but I still feel I can look after myself so I was surprised at just how vicious they were," Mr Hannah added.

"One shouted 'kick him' but after that it all became a bit of a blur. There was a light nearby and I could see there were four of them and one had ginger hair.

"The other three were wearing hoodies so I couldn't really see them.

"I think all four of them were teenagers but I suppose they could have been a bit older."

Mr Hannah walks with a stick because he had an ulcerated foot and he has also had a triple heart by-pass.

"They certainly know how to pick their victims," he said.

Residents living nearby have reported numerous incidents of anti-social behaviour in and around the Dean Road Cemetery area in recent years.

A North Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said inquiries were ongoing.

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