A CYCLIST has suffered facial injuries after being hit by a stone thrown at his head.

The man was cycling along the footpath adjacent to the nature reserve, Darrowby Drive, Darlington, between 3.30pm-3.45pm on Thursday, July 20.

As he rode past a group of youths one of them threw a stone, which hit him in the face and caused him to fall off his cycle.

As a result of the incident, the cyclist sustained bruising/swelling and a small laceration to the cheek as well as bruising/swelling to one arm.

The stone narrowly missed hitting him directly in the eye.

The youth responsible for throwing the stone is described as white, between 5ft 6ins to 5ft 7ins tall, aged 12-14 years.

He had short fair hair, very slim build and was wearing a grey sweatshirt.

If anyone has any information that may assist the investigation, contact the Durham Constabulary on 101 quoting incident number 296 of July 20 for the attention of the PC 335 Ruck.