POLICE have made an appeal for witnesses after a 21-year-old man and his girlfriend were assaulted as they walked beside a river.

As the couple passed the Sainsbury’s car park in Canterbury they saw a group of youths in their early to mid teens, mostly boys, sitting on benches.

One of the boys in the group stood in front of the boyfriend to stop him passing, and then pushed him hard in the chest.

The couple kept walking until a bottle of alcohol flew past them and smashed on the ground, followed by another bottle of alcohol that hit the girl on the back of her head, causing pain and a headache.

The girlfriend, also aged 21, turned and challenged the group’s behaviour to which she was met with a torrent of spoken abuse from one of the boys, after which her boyfriend was punched twice to the face, causing swelling to his cheek.

His girlfriend then called the police, at which point the group ran off towards Sainsbury’s

One of the boys is described as white, aged about 16, about 5ft 9in tall, of stocky build with no hair. He was wearing a pink and blue collared shirt, with a strip through the centre and “hackney” written on it.

Another boy is described as white, aged about 16, around 6ft tall of slim build, with no hair. He was wearing a dark tracksuit.

Police say the incident occurred at about 7.30pm on Saturday, February 3.

Anyone with information is asked to contact PC Alison Bagulay at Canterbury police station on 01227 868273.