The chain taken during the robbery which happened close to St Saviour’s Church Pic: Google

A man suffered facial injuries during a robbery in Bamber Bridge in the early hours of Friday morning.

Around 12.25am the 35-year-old victim was walking past the entrance to St Saviour’s Church in Church Road when three men approached him.

One of the men demanded the victim’s phone before punching him in the face. As he tried to defend himself a second man punched him causing him to fall to the ground.

The victim has a green Nokia Lumia smartphone, a silver chain and a set of blue Adidas headphones taken during the attack.

Det Sgt Jerry Sturgess, of Preston CID, said: “This was a nasty and completely unprovoked attack on a male walking home from work.

“He has been left with nasty facial injuries and is particularly upset as the stolen mobile phone contained pictures of his newborn son.

“I urge anyone with any information at all to please to come forward.”

The first offender is described as a white male, 5ft 10in to 6ft tall, of large build, aged 18 to 20-years-old. He was wearing a dark hooded top and dark trousers and possibly had facial hair on his chin.

Read more: Cards stolen from Bamber Bridge being used in Preston

The second attacker is described as a white male, 5ft 10in to 6ft tall, of slim build, aged 18 to 20-years-old with short hair. He was wearing a blue tracksuit and light blue Adidas trainers. The man had an Eastern European accent.

Anyone with information about the incident or about the offenders can contact Preston Police on 101 quoting log reference 0033 of January 13.

Alternatively, they can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at Crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.