A FATHER has been attacked while walking through Cinder-with his two-year-old son.

The pair were walking along Victoria Street at around 6.15pm on Saturday when they came across a man shouting obscenities.

The 26-year-old dad did not know the man, and carried on walking.

As he reached Somerset Road the dad saw the stranger again.

This time the stranger punched the victim twice in the face, causing him to fall to his knees.

The attacker then made off, leaving the man with swelling and bruising to his face and concerned for his son, who had witnessed the incident.

The attacker is described as a white man, around 5ft 8in tall and of slim build.

He had dark hair and was wearing a grey or light-coloured tracksuit.

Supt Phil Haynes said an attack of this kind was extremely unusual in the Forest.

"The offender was under the influence of drink or drugs," he said. "We do not tolerate this sort of behaviour and we will be exploring all avenues to ensure we track him down.

"We would ask anyone who saw anyone acting strangely in that area at the time to get in touch with us."

Any witnesses or anyone with information should call police on 0845 090 1234 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 quoting incident number 559 of February 5.