Two men were viciously attacked after their van was forced off the road near East Peckham.

The victims were hit with baseball bats and metal bars, during an incident late at night and left with serious cuts and bruises that needed hospital treatment.

Police have launched an appeal for witnesses.

The men had been travelling in a Vauxhall Vivaro along Maidstone Road, Nettlestead, at around 10.40pm on Saturday, October 2, when their van was hit from behind by another vehicle, believed to be a grey or gold coloured VW Golf.

The van came to a stop close to a roundabout for Seven Mile Lane, where several men from the VW are reported to have got out of the car and assaulted the victims.

Police attended and the men were taken to hospital with injuries including serious lacerations and bruising.

The following day, at around 2.10am on Sunday morning, their van was targeted again.

The vehicle had been on board a recovery truck, which had stopped next to traffic lights at the junction of Bow Road near Wateringbury Village Hall when a person on a motorbike threw something into the van which caused a fire.

The fire was quickly put out by the recovery driver.

Detective Constable Hannah Barker of West Kent CID said: "We are keeping an open mind as to the motive behind both the assault and subsequent arson and are urging anyone with information to contact us.

"We are also asking any drivers who may have seen anything suspicious, or who were travelling through these areas during these periods, to check for any dashcam footage which could also assist the investigation."

Anyone with information should call Kent Police on 01622 604100, quoting reference 46/193987/21.

You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

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