A 60-YEAR-OLD man was kicked to the floor and punched in the face after confronting a 20-strong gang of youths.

The man, believed to be from the Hartlepool area, was driving along Wiltshire Way in the town when the mob, many of them on bikes, started throwing stones at his car.

He was attacked when he got out of his vehicle to confront them.

He was left with injuries to his right eye after being kicked to the ground by one person and punched in the face by another.

The rest of the group stood by and watched the attack  before fleeing around the Throston estate when a passer-by alerted police.

A spokeswoman for Cleveland Police described the assault as “unprovoked”.

“Thankfully he hasn't been badly injured although this must have been a very intimidating and scary situation.

“It wasn’t particularly late when this happened so you would think there will have been other people in the area at the time.

“If anybody was out and about in the area around that time and saw youths in that area, or youths on bikes, then they should contact police.”

The incident happened close to Springwell School at around 8.50pm on Sunday night. Any witnesses to the assault or anyone who may be able to identify anyone involved in the attack, is asked to contact PC Ian Coverdale at Hartlepool Police on 01642 302126.