Mark Horvath, 26, was cycling home from work down Westgate towards the town centre at around 1.30am on Wednesday when a man standing on the pavement kicked him off his bike.

He was then kicked in the face and body in a ferocious attack which knocked him unconscious.

As he lay on the pavement, the offender stole his black, grey and white Raleigh mountain bike.

His navy blue rucksack which contained his sandwiches and other personal belongings was also stolen.

After regaining consciousness, Mark was able to make his way home, but collapsed outside where a member of the public found him and dialled 999.

Det Con Kelly Rosenthal of Leyland Police said: "This is an extremely vicious, unprovoked and meaningless attack which has left the victim with substantial injuries about his body and I would urge anyone with information about the attack or the stolen property to come forward.

"We would also like to trace and speak to anyone who was present or witnessed a disturbance on Broadfield Drive, Leyland at around 2.15am when two males were reported to be fighting and two females were present.

"It is unclear whether the two incidents are connected but there are potential witnesses in the area that we would like to speak to."

The attacker was a white man with short, cropped fair hair in his late 20s.

He was around six feet tall and wearing dark clothing.

Anyone with any information should contact Leyland CID on 01772 415844 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.