Police hunt muggers who carried out three violent attacks in one night using 'snooker ball cosh'

Police are calling for witnesses after a gang carried out three separate violent robberies in the early hours of Sunday morning.

A man in his 40s was approached by two youths as he was walking in a park area next to Charlotte Mews in Old Town shortly before 3.30am.

He was struck on the head at least four times by one of the attackers with what was described as a snooker ball inside a sock - after refusing to hand over his wallet.

The victim was knocked unconscious and his wallet was stolen. After recovering, he was able to summon help from a police car in High Street before being taken to hospital.

Shortly after 5am on Dorcan Way, a group of youths approached and threatened a man in his 20s. He was chased to the mini roundabout junction with Kingfisher Drive before being assaulted, the attackers stole his phone and wallet.

And in a third linked incident, at around 5.45am in Queen's Drive, a group of youths assaulted another man in his 20s. The attackers tried to steal his phone but ended up fleeing the scene empty-handed.

Det Sgt Scott Anger, from Swindon CID, said: "At this stage of our investigation we are still trying to establish the facts of each incident, but due to some similarities in each of them we are treating them as linked.

"Luckily none of the victims were seriously injured, but these were nasty assaults and in all three incidents it has been reported that the group of youths were using some kind of hard object in a sock as a weapon.

"We do not yet have clear descriptions of those involved, but we would like to hear from anyone who was in any of these three areas at the times of the robberies and may have seen a group of people acting suspiciously.

"We are currently carrying out a number of enquiries, including looking through CCTV from each of the scenes."

Anyone with information, including dash-cam or mobile phone footage of the incidents, should contact DS Anger on 101, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.