A BLIND man has been left afraid of leaving his home after he was pushed to the ground and robbed in the street in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The 35-year-old man, who is partially sighted and walks with a white stick, was approached by an unknown man at the junction of Marton Road and Stamford Street in Middlesbrough at 2am.

He was thrown to the floor and the attacker stole his wallet as well as his expired passport.

DC Andy Harland, of Cleveland Police, said: "This is an awful offence. The attacker would have known that the victim had trouble with his sight. It has left the victim traumatised and he is scared of leaving his home.

"We would urge anyone with information to come forward."

The attacker is described as a white man, of skinny build with dark hair and aged between 30 to 40-years-old and he was wearing dark coloured clothing.

Anyone who may have witnessed anything or saw anyone acting suspiciously at the time of incident is asked to contact DC Andy Harland on the non-emergency 101 number, Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or www.crimestoppers-uk.org.