A MAN was left with serious facial injuries after he and his partner were assaulted in Essex.

The attack happened when the couple were walking along Springfield Road, Chelmsford, next to the green at around 2am on Sunday, July 22.

They were trying to find a payphone in order to call for a taxi when they were approached by four people, one of whom asked the man for a cigarette.

The victim said he did not smoke and was then hit on the side of the head with an object similar to a brick before being repeatedly punched by all four people while injured on the floor.

He was taken to Broomfield Hospital by ambulance, where he spent two nights being treated for serious facial injuries, and is now recovering at home.

Investigating officer Dc Shelley Tarling, said: “We’re hoping that someone can recall this street assault or remember seeing this couple in the town centre that Saturday evening, Sunday morning.

“It’s a possibility that this group followed the couple for some distance before setting upon them in a secluded spot of Springfield.”

The attackers were in their early 20s, three were men and one was a woman, and the main attacker wore dark tracksuit bottoms.

Anyone with information should call detectives at Chelmsford police station on 101