Man assaulted and robbed by '˜scruffy looking' men in Southsea

Police are appealing for witnesses after a man was assaulted and had his cigarettes stolen on Southsea Common.
Southsea Common. Credit: Google Street ViewSouthsea Common. Credit: Google Street View
Southsea Common. Credit: Google Street View

The 22-year-old victim was walking on a path near to the Southsea skate park between 12.30pm and 1pm on Monday when he was approached by three men.

One of the men - described as ‘scruffy looking’ - asked him for a cigarette, before he was assaulted by all three and suffered facial injuries.

The men then fled with the victim’s cigarettes.

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One man has been described as white, aged between 26 and 28 years, 5ft 9ins tall, skinny, with short fair or blonde hair.

He was described as wearing scruffy looking blue jeans and a dark coloured coat.

A second man was described as white, aged around 24 or 25 years, 5ft 9ins tall, and skinny.

He was described as wearing dark coloured tracksuit bottoms with a red stripe down the leg, a dark coloured baseball cap, and a dark coloured bomber style jacket.

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The third man was described as white, aged between 22 and 24 years, 5ft 6ins tall, and skinny.

He was described as wearing plain dark tracksuit bottoms, a cream coloured baseball cap, and a predominantly black “Helly Hansen” type jacket with a red stripe down the side.

Officers would like to hear from anyone who saw the incident or saw three people matching this description in the area at the time.

PC Mark Pilsworth said: ‘This was a nasty attack on a man on his way to work by three men he did not know.

‘The only motive would appear to be to take his cigarettes.

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‘While this incident happened during the day, the area was covered in fog so we would really like to hear from anyone who may have seen something suspicious, or saw these men in the area at this time.

‘I would like to reassure members of the public that this type of incident is rare and should not put people off from using the Common.’

Anyone with information is asked to contact PC Pilsworth on 101, quoting 44170028403, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.