A MAN sat outside a Worcester pub was left battered and bloodied after being attacked with a golf club.

West Mercia Police were called to the Farmer's Boy in Tolladine Road, Tolladine, Worcester, after emergency services received reports of a man being assaulted with a golf club.

Witnesses say the victim, who had been drinking on his own outside the pub when he was attacked by a passer-by, leaving him bleeding from a "deep gash" on his head.

Police are investigating the incident, which took place shortly after 8pm on Thursday, and no arrests have been made.

Police say two men outside the pub were approached by three men thought to be in their late teens.

One of these three, who was wearing a hooded top with the hood worn up, attacked the victim and is believed to have hit him several times.

The pub declined to comment when the Worcester News visited yesterday, but one witness, who works at Altafs Balti, on the same site as the pub, said the victim had been drinking outside when the attacker, who he judged to be a youth aged 15 to 17 years old, struck him with a golf club.

The witness, who did not want to be named, said: “His face was all bloodied. It was quite a deep gash. He just took a swing at him. It happened right outside the front of our place.”

He said a large crowd gathered outside the front of the pub and the restaurant to see what was happening, while an off-duty nurse who was in attendance tended to his wounds.

The victim initially did not want to get into the waiting ambulance until his friends persuaded him to get in, 45 minutes after it arrived, the witness told the Worcester News.

He added: “It was quite shocking.

"We had customers at the time and it didn’t really look good for somebody to be bleeding when we’re serving food.”

A spokesman for the West Midlands Ambulance Service said they received seven 999 calls about the incident, the first of which came in about 8.08pm.

A 26-year-old man was taken to Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Worcester with head injuries, police saying he was treated for cuts and bruises.

The spokesman added: “There was an off-duty nurse in attendance lending a hand which was a welcome sight.”

Reports suggest the attacker and two other men ran off in the direction of the city centre following the incident.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on the non-emergency number, 101, quoting 741s of June 23.

Detective Constable James Bryce of West Mercia Police said: “We are appealing for anyone who may have seen the incident to get in touch with us as they could have valuable information.

“Investigations are in the early stages but I would like to reassure the local community that this appears to be an isolated incident and that the people involved are believed to be known to each other.”

*Are you the man who was attacked? The Worcester News would like to hear from you. Call our newsdesk on 01905 742244 or email news@worcesternews.co.uk.