An investigation is underway after a teenage boy was assaulted in the Castle Walk area of Shrewsbury on Friday evening.

The assault to place at around at around 8.20pm on Friday, when a group of six to eight men are reported to have approached the boy and both verbally and physically assaulted him. They also asked him to empty his pockets.

The boy made away from the scene of the incident over the Castle Walk Footbridge towards Castlefields, and the group of men walked away towards Monkmoor.

Most of the men that attacked the boy had their faces covered. Police have issued a description of two of the suspects:

A white man with curly black hair, about 5ft 9 inches tall (1m 75cm), and aged between 19 to 22 years old. He spoke with a Liverpool accent and wore a black North Face puffer-style jacket, blue Adidas tracksuit bottoms, and black Nike trainers.

A white man with blonde/light brown hair, about 6ft (1m 82cm) tall and of a skinny build. He was wearing a black raincoat.

Detective Sergeant Mathew Crisp said: “The boy who was assaulted received wounds to his face, which required medical treatment. Although he wasn’t too seriously injured this was a horrible experience for him and we’re determined to track down those involved.

“Please get in touch if you know anything about this incident that could help our ongoing investigation.”

To share information about this assault, phone the police on 101 and give incident reference number 698S of 9 March 2018. You can also report information anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers by phoning 0800 555 111 or visiting crimestoppers-uk.org.