A 79-year-old man was hit by a brick outside his own home in an incident which has shocked neighbourhood policing teams.

Officers are appealing for information to find those responsible for the assault, which took place at around 6.30pm on Saturday (October 30).

A brick was thrown at the front door of the property on Dallas Court in Hemlington.

When the elderly man went outside to investigate the noise, he was hit in the head by a house brick causing a temporary loss of consciousness.

Read more: Girl, 7, injured after being hit by moped in Hartlepool

He was taken to hospital with a head injury and has since been released.

During the incident, the man’s wife, who is 95-years-old heard the noise outside and went to find out what was happening.

Moments later a brick was thrown through the front window, which would have hit the lady if she hadn’t moved from the sofa.

Chief Inspector Daryll Tomlinson said: “We’re providing support to the couple after this shocking and horrendous incident.

“We’re doing all we can to identify those responsible and need the help of the local community to tell us what they know.

“The couple now live with the traumatic emotional aftermath of what happened to them and the people who did this deserve to be held responsible. We’re determined to put them before the courts.

"Saturday night is what we know locally as mischief night we received a disgusting call because of the injuries the elderly resident received.

"A brick hit him on the head and knocked him to the ground. It's really appalling and when we've reviewed it to think that this elderly couple have had to go through that on a Saturday night living in their home address, it's really upsetting."

Anyone with information is asked to call Cleveland Police on the non-emergency number or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Crimestoppers is offering a reward of up to £1,000 for information on this case.

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