A group of up to 10 men chased and beat a young Slovakian man in the early hours of New Year’s Day in a suspected racially motivated attack.

The assault took place near the railway station in Dover and witnesses reported seeing the attackers chase the man from Priory Hill before laying into him, causing head injuries which required medical attention.

Sam Lennon, a reporter on the Mercury’s sister paper, the Kentish Express, and who lives in Dover, was present in the aftermath of the attack. He stayed with the victim, who he estimated to be aged about 20, until he had been seen by police and medics.

Mr Lennon said: “When I got there, between 1.30am and 2am, the victim was lying on Clarendon Road, just a few feet from the junction with Folkestone Road.

“He had been bleeding heavily, with a wound to his head and was drifting in an out of consciousness.

“He was able to speak but was delirious from the attack and he tried to get up but those attending to him told him to lie still.

A south-east Kent police spokeswoman said: “The incident is under investigation to determine whether it was a racially motivated crime.”

The youth was taken to the William Harvey Hospital where he was treated for a head injury.