We are appealing for witnesses after a man was assaulted in Petersfield.

We received a report that between 9:40pm and 11:55pm on Friday 16 May, a man was approached on three separate occasions by a group of four males in a small, grey Audi.

He reported having been on the High Street outside of Marks and Spencers, when a car pulled up next to him and asked for directions, before the driver became verbally abusive towards the him.

The driver then followed the man on to Cranford Road and showed him a box-cutter styled knife. Three men exited the car and blocked the footpath, shouting homophobic abuse and threatening to punch the man.

The man tried to walk a different way away from the group, and was again approached by the Audi on Borough Road near to Siward House. On this occasion, four men have exited the vehicle, one of whom had an object that looked like a pole or a bat.

The man ran away, but was hit on the head and the back.

He was not seriously injured during the incident and called a taxi to leave the area.

Three of the males involved in the incident have been described as follow:

Male 1:

Male 2:

Male 3:

We would like to speak to anyone who was in the areas of the High Street, Cranford Road or Borough Road around the time who may have witnessed the incident.

We would also like to speak to anyone who has CCTV, doorbell camera or dashcam footage from these areas around this time.

If you recognise the description of the vehicle or persons involved, or have any information which could assist our investigation, please report this to us.

You can call 101 quoting reference 44250214569 or report online via https://www.hampshire.police.uk/tua/tell-us-about/cor/tell-us-about-existing-case-report/

Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111, or report via their website, below;

Independent UK charity taking crime information anonymously | Crimestoppers