A tradesman has shared the harrowing experience of being violently attacked following a heated altercation with another motorist.

The confrontation in Melbourne escalated into a road rage incident that left him injured, with broken teeth and covered in blood.

“I immediately went into survival mode, trying to protect myself. I honestly thought it could be the end for me. I’ve never faced anything like that before,” Ciaran recounted.

The young man, only 21, endured a brutal assault, being hit on the head with a bat and subjected to kicks and punches.

“They were shouting, threatening to kill me and hurling insults, calling me a rat,” he explained.

“The attackers were complete strangers to me,” he added.

He says the argument began when he beeped his horn at a BMW travelling at half the speed limit in Keilor Downs.

“They were pushing me off the road, my car was hitting the rims on the side,” he said.

“Both vehicles collided when he tried to cross lanes and instead was pushed into a fence.

“And as I turned to get out of the car, I got a bat into the face and instantly I just felt all my teeth just crumble into my mouth.

“Blood instantly coming everywhere, I tried backing away from them.”

The driver and his passengers continued to lay into the apprentice plumber.

“All I was focused on is protecting my face ’cause it was bleeding, you know, so I’m protecting my face, trying not to let my teeth come out. So I’m just getting kicked in the back of the head,” he said.

“I was pretty scared, but I did get up to my feet just out of pure adrenaline and run in front of traffic, in front of oncoming traffic to try and get away from them, which did work.”

The BMW fled before police arrived. They’re now working to identify those men to hear their side of the story.

Anyone who knows them is being urged to come forward.

The victim also warned other drivers.

“Definitely just be careful who you beep at, I guess, you know, sometimes it’s not worth it,” he said.