A man has been attacked and had his backpack stolen in Royston's Priory Memorial Gardens.

Detectives investigating the robbery - which took place on Sunday morning between 2am and 2.45am - are appealing for witnesses and anyone with information to come forward.

The victim, aged in his 40s, was talking to a group of teenagers - near the bandstand - when he was approached from behind by a group of unknown people, who assaulted him and stole his backpack. Both groups then ran off.

Det Con Rebecca Robinson, from the North Herts Local Crime Unit, said: “The victim was left with multiple injuries to his face, ribs and thumb as a result of the attack.

“Our enquiries are continuing at this time to trace the offenders and we are appealing for anyone who saw what happened, or who may have seen a group of teenagers in the area around the time, to please get in touch.”

Anyone with information is asked to please email rebecca.robinson@herts.police.uk. You can also report information online at herts.police.uk/report, speak to an operator in the force communications room via the online web chat at herts.police.uk/contact or call the non-emergency number 101, quoting crime reference 41/62773/21.

Alternatively, you can stay anonymous by contacting the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via their untraceable online form at crimestoppers-uk.org.

To receive police messages about a range of topics including burglaries, scams and missing people in your local area, sign up to owl.co.uk/herts or download the ‘OWL crime alerts’ app from your app store.