THE victim of a horrific attack has spoken of the terrifying moments he lay motionless on the floor, being kicked and punched in the head.

The 27-year-old, who has asked not to be named for fear of recriminations, was targeted by up to six youths as he walked back from Colchester.

He has chosen to speak out about the unprovoked incident in the hope that witnesses come forward.

“At about 9pm on Tuesday, as I walked along Flagstaff Road, I passed a gang of little so-and-sos,” he recalled. “I felt a bit intimidated and one of them shouted at me.

“I carried on and ignored them.”

When he returned about 40 minutes later, the man said the group was still hanging around.

In a moment of self-preservation, he pulled his mobile phone out and rang his girlfriend, who he lives with in Colchester, so if anything happened, someone would know about it.

He explained: “I had told her about this gang and feeling a bit intimidated, so I just kept talking to her. I walked passed the gang and they made a comment a me. The next thing I knew I was lying on the ground.

“All my partner heard was me yell and the phone hit the floor. Then it cut off.”

He said the gang kicked and punched him in the head and back, and he blacked out for a time, before starting to empty his pockets when he came to.

“I was saying ‘stop, I’ll give you everything’ but they just kept kicking and kicking.”

The victim said he was attacked opposite the DSG support group building, about 30 yards from the junction with Napier Road.

He managed to get away when a car flashed its lights and sounded the horn. The victim pushed the assailants off and ran. He said: “I still had the gang chasing me.

“I stopped a car, and a couple helped me. I can’t thank them enough. Not everyone would have stopped, but they let me in the car, locked the doors and called the police. I don’t know what would have happened if it hadn’t been for them.

“The gang was there for about 40 minutes, so they would have been seen by a lot of people.

“We need people to come forwards with descriptions or any information.”

Witnesses should contact Det Con Andy Young at Colchester police station on 0300 3334444 or call Crimestoppers anonymously, on 0800 111555.