A MAN thought he was going to die after he was allegedly chased and beaten by two men in Hereford on Saturday morning.

The man, who is in his 50s, was walking along the Great Western Way towards Hereford Rugby Club just before 1am when he saw a man ahead of him.

As he neared the man, a second man came out of the bushes and one of the men punched the victim in the face.

The man turned and ran in the opposite direction but the two other men, believed to be in their 20s, caught him and punched him in the face again and pushed him to the floor. Police say the victim was repeatedly kicked and punched until one of the men demanded money.

The victim tried to run again towards the rugby club, where a function was being held, but was grabbed and the attack continued until the men fled. The victim received help at the rugby club before being taken to hospital.

Detective Constable Moore said: “This was a vicious, unprovoked and prolonged attack on a middle-aged man in poor health, who thought he was going to die at the hands of these young men.

“We are appealing to a couple who passed him on the footpath a few moments before the attack to contact us as they may have vital information that could identify the attackers."

One of the attackers is described as being 5ft 10ins tall and of slim build. He had very dark, short and wavy hair, and was clean shaven. He wore a pink shirt with a collar, a dark jacket, smart trousers and dark leather shoes.

The other man is described as wearing a dark jacket with a white stripe down the front.

Anyone with information can call 101 quoting incident number 032s 310514.