A TEENAGER was grabbed and punched in the face in an attempted robbery in Trowbridge.

The 16-year-old victim was walking with his friends, between Lamplighters Walk and Rutland Crescent around 8.45pm on Wednesday (September 25), when two unknown people approached from behind on bikes.

They are both described as male and dressed in dark clothing with covered faces. They grabbed the victim, punched him to the face and demanded he empty his pockets.

After the victim handed over cigarettes, the two suspects left the scene.

PC Barry Dalton, from Trowbridge community policing team, said: "Understandably any incident of this nature is concerning for the local community but we would like to reassure them that we take reports like this extremely seriously and have swiftly started investigating this incident.

"We are urging anyone who may have seen the suspects in the area at the time, or may have dash cam footage, to come forward and help us identify these people."

Anyone with information is asked to call 101 and quote crime reference 54190095513.