AN abusive man who was jailed for leaving the mother of his child paralysed and brain damaged is now employed by the hospital that treats her.

Steve Clark, 35, was sentenced in 2001 to four years in prison for GBH after leaving Lisa Taylor, 35, for dead in French Weir Park, in Taunton, in 2000, but only served two years.

Clark ferociously kicked Lisa in the head 40 times leaving her wheelchair-bound and unable to speak.

Now she faces seeing her attacker every time she returns to Musgrove Park Hospital, which has employed Clark.

Lisa’s mother, Nancy Taylor, 71 of Bacon Drive, was shocked to come face to face with Clark two weeks ago at the hospital while Lisa was receiving treatment.

She said: “As if we haven’t been through enough, he has been given a job at the hospital where Lisa is treated regularly. I am so angry.

“When I saw him I felt sick. He was very cheery and was telling someone they looked really well.

“I turned to him and said, ‘It’s a pity Lisa isn’t looking well.’ And I walked away, I was so upset.”

Lisa visits hospital around every 10 weeks to treat seizures linked to the assault.

Distressed Nancy said: “If she saw him, I worry what would happen to her. I can’t settle thinking I will have to bump into him every time I take her to hospital.”

Trainee chef Lisa met Clark in a pub near their home in Taunton in 1997 but suffered an abusive relationship.

Nancy and her husband, Roddy, gave up their jobs to provide round-the-clock care for their daughter, but now Nancy is looking after Lisa alone since her husband died in 2010.

More than a thousand people all over the country have now signed an online petition to “get Steve Clark removed from Musgrove Park Hospital”.

Back in 2003, the County Gazette launched a ‘Fund for Lisa’ campaign to help her parents renovate their home to accommodate their disabled daughter.

At the time, Lisa was being looked after at Manor Nursing Home in Bishop’s Hull since suffering the horrific beating, but her parents were keen to care for her themselves.

When Lisa moved back home in July 2003, Nancy told the County Gazette: “I would like to thank the whole of Taunton Deane, The Manor and everyone who has helped Lisa.

“You could tell she is excited about coming home – it's where she belongs. It’s been a long wait, I am just glad to have her back.”

A spokesman for Musgrove Park Hospital said: “We understand this incident has caused upset and concern for Lisa Taylor’s family and we are in the process of contacting them about this matter.

“The employment of staff is an internal matter which we will not be commenting on publically. We are keen to support the family in dealing with this difficult time.”