A MAN was punched to the ground and hit with a piece of wood for refusing to hand over cash.

The victim, a man in his 20s, was walking when he was approached by a man on the corner of Haven Road and Long Road in Canvey at 3.20pm on Tuesday, January 11.

The man asked for £5 and when the victim refused the suspect attacked. The victim was left with bruising.

The suspect is described as white, 5ft 7in, of skinny build, in his twenties, wearing a baseball cap with a black peak under a white Lonsdale hooded top with a Lonsdale logo on the front.

He was wearing a scruffy blue Adidas tracksuit bottoms. He had green eyes which were bloodshot and he was clean shaven but looked dirty.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Pc Barry Hilton at Benfleet police station on 0300 333 4444 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.