Appeal as attacked teenager fights for life

A 15-year-old boy attacked following a beach party continues to fight for life today as detectives urged witnesses to come forward.

He is being treated at a specialist brain injury unit following the unprovoked assault by a man as he walked with three friends along Bexhill seafront in East Sussex.

Detectives from Sussex Police appealed to teenagers who were at the beach party before the attack happened, between midnight on Friday and 12.45am yesterday.

The attack took place a few seconds after the boy walked across a road to speak to a man who had called out to him and his friends in De La Warr Parade.

He remains in a critical condition at the Hurstwood Park Neurological Centre in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, which specialises in treating patients with brain injuries.

Detectives believe the attacker was at the same beach party at nearby Glyne Gap that the victim and his friends attended before the assault.

Officers want to trace a man described as white, 5ft 6in to 5ft 7in and in his early 20s, with short dark blond hair. He was wearing dark blue baggy jeans and a long-sleeved white top, like a cricket jumper.

Detective Inspector Paul Phelps, from East Sussex CID, said: "Someone knows who this person is but they may not know the seriousness of the outcome of his actions."

Anyone with information is asked to call Sussex Police on 0845 6070 999, quoting Operation Leverton, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

PA.