A MAN was punched in the face and robbed by a gang as he walked along a town centre street.

The three attackers, who kept hitting the 26-year-old victim after he was knocked to the ground, took his wallet.

Detectives are also investigating a report of an assault in the same place just before the robbery, believed to involve the same group of men, in which a 17- year-old boy was punched in the face but managed to run off. The incidents happened in Lugley Street, Newport, Isle of Wight, on Friday at about 11pm.