A 13-YEAR-OLD boy was punched and slapped by a group of three men as he walked down a quiet street in Grays.

The teenager claims he was attacked between 6pm and 7pm in Belmont Road on Monday, January 20 but he did not require medical attention.

Police have issued an e-fit of a man they wish to speak to in connection with the attack as they attempt to establish a motive.

All three men drove off in a Black BMW with tinted rear windows.

DI Anne Cameron, the senior investigating officer, said: "We want to establish a motive behind this assault and so need to identify and speak with this man as a matter of priority.

"As well as wanting a name of the man shown in the efit, we are also keen to hear from anyone who saw three black men on Belmont Road or at Grays Beach last Monday evening."

The man in the efit is described as black, is in his late 20s and was wearing dark jeans and a black woolly hat while his accomplices are of similar description.

Anyone with information in connection with this assault is urged to contact detectives at Colchester’s Major Investigation Team on 101, email them on SCDappeals@essex.pnn.police.uk or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.