POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a 13-year-old boy was assaulted in the New Forest.

The teenager suffered a broken ankle and chipped bone in his foot after he was attacked near the A31 roadbridge on Saturday.

Officers say the boy was recording his friend as he skateboarded along the road when a man driving a dark-coloured Vauxhall car appeared to try and run the boy off the road.

The boy then shouted and the man stopped his car and approached him. He grabbed the boy before pushing him to the ground and standing on his ankle and foot.

The man then also made the boy delete the footage from his camera before leaving the scene in his car.

The man is described as white, aged about 40, about 6ft 5ins tall and of a large build.

He had a long ginger beard and was wearing a hat, jeans and a jacket.

PC Jason Andrews said: “This was a cowardly assault on a defenceless young boy which has resulted in the victim sustaining a broken ankle and a chipped bone in his foot.

“The weather was good this day and so the area was likely to have been busy with cyclists, dog walkers and tourists and I would urge anyone with any information or who witnessed the incident to contact me.”

The attack happened sometime between 11.30am and 12.30pm.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact PC Andrews on 101, quoting 44150121187, or call the charity Crimestoppers line on 0800 555 111, where information can be left anonymously.