A mother-of-two who was attacked from behind by a man while with her two young children has warned others to ‘be careful’ after the ‘terrifying’ incident.

The attack took place when the 32-year-old, who wanted to stay anonymous, was walking to Old Heath recreation grounds in Colchester with her two children, both aged below five at 2.45pm on August 1.

She was approached by a man, who she though may be under the influence of drugs, who asked her where the train station was. After ignoring him, she was followed by him until she turned around and spoke to him.

Once her back was turned, she was struck from behind, falling to the ground.

"I was just walking to the park with my two kids when it happened," she said.

"A man came up to me calling me love so I ignored him but he asked me for directions so I turned to speak to him.

"I was hit so hard from behind that I fell on top of my bag. I don't know if he used a weapon or not, he hit me so hard.

"The man started pulling the bag from underneath me and I looked up and managed to grab the foot of my youngest who was in the pram and held him so tightly.

"I was just shouting 'take my bag, just don't hurt my kids'. I just managed to look up to see the two men running off together.

"I fell on my arm which is really bad. There are loads of bruises all over it and I've got loads of bruises over my legs as well."

Once the two men had left, the Colchester resident gathered her children and headed home before calling family members for comfort.

She now wants to warn other of the incident.

"It was so scary, really terrifying," she added.

"It's so scary that two men would do something to a woman, let alone to a woman with two children.

"I just want to warn other to be careful. I've seen a few dodgy people near the park there but never anything this serious."

A police spokeswoman said: "We are investigating after a woman in her 30s reported that she was robbed in Colchester.

"The victim was walking near to the Old Heath Recreation Ground at 3pm when she was approached by a man asking for directions.

"As she was giving them to him, she was hit over the head by a second man, and her bag was stolen. Both then left on foot in the direction of the town centre.

"Our enquiries are ongoing."