A VISUALLY impaired man suffered a broken jaw when he was punched in an unprovoked attack.

The 24-year-old victim needed surgery after he was assaulted in Bishop Auckland on Saturday.

The victim, who is partially blind in one eye and has mild learning difficulties, was walking along Watling Road with a friend at about 6pm when he was attacked.

When the two were close to Auckland Medical Centre, a man who was a passenger in a car got out and punched the victim once in the side of the face, leaving him with a fractured jaw.

The attacker then got back into the car, described as a small light-coloured hatchback driven by a blonde woman, and they left the area towards Cockton Hill Road.

PC Lee Nicholson, of South Durham CID, said: “This was an unprovoked attack on a man who already suffers from confidence issues and rarely goes out of the house. We would like to appeal to anyone who has any information which can help our investigation to come forward."

The suspect is described as white, around 6ft tall and thick set, with short dark hair. At the time of the incident, he wearing a plain pale blue T-shirt with a round neck. Anyone with information should call PC Nicholson at Durham Police on 101 ext 742520.