A MAN was punched and head-butted in the face after being dragged to a Newton Abbot bookmakers from a nearby shop.

The injured man's attacker then ran off from the scene at Bevan Bookmakers in Haldon Rise, Buckland.

His 55-year-old victim - dazed and bloodied - suffered bruises, cuts and swellings to his face. It is understood he had just won some money on the horses and gone into the Co-op, where he was wrongly accused of stealing cash belonging to the offender who dragged him back towards the bookies.

The injured man was treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken by ambulance to the town's hospital.

Police immediately launched a hunt for the assailant in connection with the crime, which they logged as a malicious wounding.

A police spokesman said the matter was being treated as an unprovoked attack.

The casualty, who has not been named but lives locally, was in the Co-op when he was suddenly grabbed by the stranger and marched towards the bookies where the blows were unleashed.

A police spokesman said: 'It appears that once at the bookmakers he was punched in the face several times with a clenched fist and then head-butted, which caused visible injuries.'

The incident was reported just after 4pm yesterday (May 9).

The spokesman said inquiries were under way to track the suspect.

One witness said: 'The poor man was dragged out of the shop and along the street before being thrown into the doorway of the bookies.' Another said the attacker had earlier been in the bookies where he dropped a bottle of lager which smashed on the floor.