Detectives are appealing for information after a man had part of his ear bitten off in Lancaster.

At around 3am on Sunday, January 22 the victim, a 20 year old student, was walking home from a night out with a friend when they were approached by three men on Middle Street. The victim had part of his left ear bitten off before the three men left the scene.

DC Tris Hardwick of Lancaster CID said: “This was a violent and nasty attack on the victim which will result in him having to have surgery to repair the damage to his ear. The three men are thought to have approached the victim and his friend from the direction of King Street and we are keen to hear from anyone who may have seen them at the time to come forward. Similarly, I would urge anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information about what happened to contact us as soon as possible.”

Anyone with information can contact police on 101 quoting crime reference WB1700655. Alternatively independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at Crimestoppers-uk.org.