An autistic teenager whose family took him away from a life of violence in Leicester has died following a fight in a Yorkshire village.

David Cox suffered fatal injuries after a violent altercation in Bessacarr, near Doncaster. The 18-year-old, formerly of the Saffron Lane estate, suffered from Asperger's syndrome.

His parents Clive and Heidi took him away from Leicester two years ago because he was regularly being attacked by other teenagers.

Speaking to the Mercury last night, Mr Cox, 42, said: "He loved Leicester and he didn't want to leave, but he was being assaulted and picked on a lot.

"We moved to Yorkshire because we needed to get a better life for him. We were told this was a better place."

David had been out with his sister, Carrie-Anne, 16, and her boyfriend, Nathan, in Bessacarr when the assault took place, at 10.15pm on Monday. He was taken to a Doncaster hospital where he was kept on life-support for 24 hours.

Mr Cox said Nathan, 19, had tried to step in to protect David by shielding him. Nathan suffered a broken hand in the incident.

Mr Cox was on the scene within 10 minutes of the attack and tried to revive his son.

He said: "He died of a brain haemorrhage. He probably had no oxygen going to his brain from the moment he hit the road.

"It seems one of the other lads hit him and he hit back and got knocked down."

Clive said they would be bringing David back to Leicester to bury him.

He said: "The sad thing was, he was scared of going outside and hardly ever went out.

"Because of his condition, he thought he was living in an alien world up here because of the way people spoke.

"All he ever talked about was Leicester. He didn't want to leave. So we're going to be taking him back."

Youngsters with Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism, have a short attention span and also find it hard to get on with others.

Five years ago, the Cox family appeared in the Leicester Mercury, saying the education system was letting let David down.

Between the ages of five and 13, David attended four Leicester schools. One expelled him and two asked his parents to take him out of the school.

Yesterday, Clive said: "David was a lovable kid – and a little monster at times. He was struggling with himself because he was frustrated – he just wanted to be like any other 18-year-old but, of course, he wasn't.

"But for this to happen – it's undescribable.

"I tried to take my son away from violence and this is what happened."

A spokesman for South Yorkshire police said: "An 18-year-old man has died after he sustained serious head injuries following an altercation involving a group of teenagers at about 10.15pm on Monday.

"The three men, all aged 18 or 19, who were arrested on suspicion of assault have been released on bail pending further inquiries."