A GANG robbed a man on Southend seafront after he refused to give them money for booze.

The victim was sitting on the sea wall near the Sea LIfe centre when he was approached by three men asking for cash.

Two of them punched him in the face, took his mobile phone, and said he would have to pay them to get it back.

Because the cash machines by the Kursaal didn’t work, the suspects then accompanied him to the High Street where he withdrew £10 from the ATM at Lloyds TSB bank. Disappointed with the amount of cash available, two of the group then punched him in the stomach before making off with both his phone and money.

One of the suspects is described as being white, aged about 25, around 6ft 1ins tall, of muscular build with dark cropped hair. He wore a black zip up jacket with white stripes down it and Adidas plain black tracksuit bottoms. He spoke with a Russian or Lithuanian accent.

The second suspect was white and aged 30 to 35. He was about 5ft 11ins tall, stocky, with dark cropped hair and wore a white zip up jacket and black tracksuit bottoms and he also had a few teeth missing. The victim was unable to give a description of the third man.

The robbery happened between 1am and 2am on Saturday, August 28.

Pc Kerry Sams is investigating. She said: “This incident started on the seafront and the victim and suspects walked along Queensway and Chancellor Road on their way to the High Street – both areas are still busy at this time in the morning so I’m hoping to hear from witnesses who saw the victim with the suspects at any point.”

Please contact Pc Sams at Southend police station on 0300 3334444.