When 26-year-old Christopher Diedo was attacked by a man in his UK hometown because he has Down’s syndrome, he no longer felt safe in his own house because he feared his aggressor would trace him.

So his Maltese parents were more than surprised to see that, just a few weeks later, their son was willing to shake hands with his aggressor who asked for forgiveness.

His father, Andrew, who had witnessed the attack, confessed that when the attacker asked to be forgiven he could not bring himself to shake the hand that had punched his son.

“Without any prompting, after I’d refused the man, Christopher – a committed Catholic – extended his hand and greeted the man who had attacked him verbally and physically.

“I felt humbled by my son’s readiness to forgive and move on and, in an instant, remembered what he was called for and what I should have done first as a Christian and the head of my family: forgive the man and shake his hand, which I then did,” Mr Diedo said.

His son’s exemplary deed featured in the UK Catholic Universe newspaper earlier this month.

Mr Diedo was born to Maltese parents and lived for most of his life in the UK although he spent a few years living in Malta. He and his wife Monica, from Ħamrun, both moved to the UK where they had three children. Christopher, the youngest, has Down’s syndrome, but despite his learning difficulties he is building a career in photography and has already had several exhibitions (www.christopher-diedo.co.uk).

A few months ago, Christopher’s parents went to pick him up from a centre in Dartford where he had spent a day with friends. As they were heading to their car, three men in their 20s walked towards them. One of them, who was drunk and wore a court tag around his ankle, called Christopher a freak and punched him in the face.

Mr Diedo intervened and ended up in a brawl with his son’s aggressor who was eventually arraigned. He pleaded guilty to the assault and was jailed for 170 days.

“Christopher was so traumatised by the attack that he later tried several times to leave home, saying he was afraid the man would return to trace him and burn our house down,” his father said.

Some weeks after the attack, the man – who was bailed out on condition he stayed away from the Diedo family – approached them to apologise, blaming his behaviour on drinking whisky.