A 73-year-old man was battered to the ground in a random attack as he waited for a bus in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The victim was waiting at a bus stop in Cheam Common Road at the junction with London Road when a man approached him and punched him to the floor before kicking him while he was down.

The attacker then ran off with another man leaving the pensioner lying on the floor with serious facial injuries. Passengers on the 213 bus helped him when it arrived at the stop and he was taken to hospital.

The suspect is a white man in his late teens or early 20s and was wearing casual clothing.

Detective Constable Natalie Laing called the attack "vicious, random and completely unprovoked".

He added: "Such assaults in Sutton are rare and we are determined to catch the culprit.

"This is a busy crossroads and there were a lot of people around at this time.

"If anyone has any information, please come forward."

If you have information, you can contact DC Laing at Sutton CID on 020 8649 0747, or anonymously to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.