A woman suffered from serious facial injuries after an alleged racially-aggravated assault this weekend.

Lancashire Police reported that the victims, a female and her male friend, were approached by two unknown men in Penny Street, Lancaster, asking for a cigarette.

At 2:08am, when the victims said they didn’t have any cigarettes, one of the men allegedly became racially abusive. 

The female victim and her male friend were assaulted, and the woman, who is in her early 20s, suffered serious facial injuries.

DS Rachel Crossley, of Lancaster CID, said: “We will not tolerate this kind of appalling behaviour in our communities and I want to reassure the public that we are taking this matter extremely seriously.

“As part of our ongoing enquiries we want to speak to the individual in the still. We would ask anyone who recognises him – or the individual himself – to contact the police straight away.”

No arrests have been made at this stage.

As part of ongoing enquiries, police want to speak to the individual in the picture in connection with the incident.

A spokesperson for Lancashire Police said: "Do you recognise the individual in the still?

"We want to speak to him about a racially-aggravated assault which took place in Lancaster [on the morning of Saturday, June 15].

"It was reported that at 2.08am the victims were approached by two unknown men in Penny Street who asked for a cigarette. When the victims said they didn’t have any, one of the men became racially abusive.

"The female victim and her male friend were then assaulted. The female victim, who is in her early 20s, suffered serious facial injuries.

"No arrests have been made at this stage. This incident is being taken extremely seriously and we have a dedicated team of officers assigned to this case."

Anyone with information is asked to email 8291@lancashire.police.uk or call 101, quoting log 0361 of June 15.