POLICE investigating a hate crime where a teenage boy was assaulted and subjected to homophobic abuse in Basildon, are appealing for witnesses.

At around 4.45pm on Monday, 15 August the victim was walking towards the supermarket on Clay Hill Road. He walked out of a tunnel when he saw a group of men and one of them shouted a homophobic comment to him.

As the victim waited at the traffic lights at Southernhay, one of the group told the boy he had a knife.

This suspect then jumped off an orange bike and attacked him. The other men in the group joined in the assault leaving the victim with bruises to his face, head and back. A member of the public stepped in to help the victim and the attackers fled towards the direction of the bus station.

The suspects are described as wearing black clothing and balaclavas.

Anyone with information about the incident, or who has footage of it which has not yet been passed to police, is asked to contact the Essex Force as soon as possible, quoting crime reference number 42/214716/22. You can submit a report on the police website where you can use the online Live Chat service available Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays) between 10am-9pm.

Alternatively, you can call police on 101. If you would like to make an anonymous report you can contact independent charity Crimestoppers, by visiting their website or by calling 0800 555 111.