TWO 14-year-old boys were assaulted in Ulverston on Saturday evening.
The boys - both pupils at Dowdales School in Dalton - were approached by three men at a bus stop on Victoria Street, Ulverston.
Police say the three men engaged them in conversation which resulted in the two boys being asked to fight.
The two boys fled the scene, but were confronted again by the the men in an alley way between Burlington Street and Ainslie Street.
The two boys were punched to the ground and kicked about the body before one of them was set alight with a cigarette lighter.
The blaze was quickly put out and the three males were chased from the secene by local residents.
A spokesman for Cumbria Police said: "On the day of the Dickensian Festival when Ulverston is trying to show what it has to offer to visitors, these three males carried out a terrifying assault.
"It was a mindless crime."
Police are appealing for witnesses to contact them on 0845 2200247.
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