A good Samaritan is being urged to come forward after warding off three hooded attackers who punched a teenager because he refused to hand over his belongings.

A 19-year-old man had been walking towards a cashpoint at The Hyde shopping precinct in Stevenage when he was approached by three men.

The victim was grabbed by the arm by the men, who demanded he hand over his mobile phone and a ring he was wearing.

The teenager was punched in the face and knocked to the ground after refusing to co-operate, and was left with bruising and swelling.

A member of the public then shouted at the men to leave the victim alone and they ran off in an unknown direction without taking anything.

Police have today issued an appeal for witnesses and descriptions of the men following the attack, which took place at about 7.30pm on Tuesday, February 24.

The first man is described by police as white, in his early 20s, around 5ft 10in tall and of medium build, with short dark hair. He was clean shaven and wearing gloves, dark baggy jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt with a white logo on and the hood up at the time.

The second is described as white, in his mid 20s, around 6ft tall, and of a bulky build, with short dark hair. He was wearing a green hoodie with the hood up and grey tracksuit bottoms with an Umbro logo on.

The third man is described as a white, around 5ft 6in tall and of stocky build. He was wearing grey tracksuit bottoms, a black hooded top with a Nike tick on, black trainers and he had a gold ring on his left hand.

Det Con Emma Landucci from the Stevenage Local Crime Unit said: “I am keen to trace the member of the public who came to the victim’s aid as soon as possible, as he may have vital information which could assist our investigation.

“This ordeal has understandably left the victim shaken and I would urge anyone with any other information about what happened to contact me straight away.

“The descriptions of the men are quite detailed so I would like to hear from anyone who believes they may have seen them in the area prior to or after the incident.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact DC Landucci on police non-emergency number 101, quoting crime reference E1/15/1248.

Alternatively call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.