At around 4pm, officers were contacted after the man was reportedly assaulted on Avondale Avenue by a group of youths. The youths ran off after members of public came to the man’s assistance.

A short time later a male and female arrived in Avondale Avenue and the man was assaulted a second time. He was taken to hospital with a laceration to his head.

A 29 year-old man and a 54 year-old man were also injured during the incident and sought hospital treatment.

An investigation is underway and house-to-house and CCTV enquiries are being carried out in the local area.

Three teenagers have been arrested in connection with the incident, as follows:
A 17 year-old male and a 13 year-old male, both from Melling, were arrested on suspicion of S18 assault and released on conditional bail.
A 14-year-old male from Orrell Park was arrested on suspicion of S18 assault and violent disorder and released on conditional bail.

Detective Inspector Yoseph Al-Ramadhan said: “Our investigation is in the early stages and I would appeal for anyone who was in the area around Avondale Avenue on Saturday and who may have seen anything to contact us, as they may have information which could assist our investigation.

"This was an unprovoked assault which would have been an appalling to witness and we will act on everything you tell us to put those responsible before the courts."

Anyone with information is asked to DM @MerPolCC, call 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 quoting reference 19100070009.