A FAMILY stroll to their local shops ended in terror when a father was suddenly punched in the face by a complete stranger as he pushed his daughter’s buggy along a busy road.

Violence flared at 6.15pm on Tuesday as building surveyor Peter Hyde was walking along Alma Road in Winton with his fiancée Montserrat Martin Carrillo and their two-year-old daughter Amalia.

Police have described the assault as “unprovoked” and appealed for witnesses in a bid to track down the clean-shaven, smartly dressed attacker.

Mr Hyde, 56, from Charminster said: “I still can’t believe it happened. The man walked across the road and, for no reason whatsoever, punched me full in the face.

“I was pushing the buggy on the pavement, traffic was heavy and Amalia was my main concern.

“At first I thought I might know the man but I have never seen him before; police say it may be a case of mistaken identity.

“He looked like he was on his way back from work and was wearing a formal jacket and beige coloured trousers.

“After punching me he just walked off, without any explanation.

“It was shocking and totally out of order. If the force of the punch had knocked me off my feet Amalia would have been at risk.”

Mr Hyde added: “My fiancée is understandably nervous now but I refuse to be intimidated by this man. Hopefully the police will catch him and he will get what he deserves in court.

“It makes me very angry that this sort of thing can happen to a family minding their own business in a Bourne-mouth street, in broad daylight.”

The attacker is white, in his late 30s to early 40s, about 6ft tall with a medium build. He was wearing a grey jacket and light coloured trousers.

A Dorset Police spokesman said: “This was an unprovoked attack which left the victim in a state of shock.

“There may have been a number of people in the area at the time and I would appeal to them to contact us if they saw any suspicious activity.”

Police can be contacted by phoning 101 and quoting incident number 17:352 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.