POLICE want to speak to a man in connection with an assault on a 21-year-old woman in Stroud.

A woman was with friends in Bank Gardens when a man repeatedly hit her with an acoustic guitar shortly before 5pm on Wednesday.

An eyewitness told the SNJ that the woman fell to the floor and was ‘bleeding badly.’

The woman suffered a ‘significant cut to the head’ and was being treated by a police officer at the scene until an ambulance arrived around 6.30pm.

She was taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital for treatment.

A spokesman for Gloucestershire police said: “A 21-year-old woman sustained a significant cut to her head after a man hit her on the head with a guitar.

“A verbal altercation occurred between the victim and offender, before it escalated into the man becoming violent.

“Officers have spoken to numerous witnesses but are still encouraging anyone else with information to come forward.

“Many members of the public were in the area at the time and some may have even filmed the incident.”

Youth workers were handing out lollipops to young people in the area when the altercation started, according to an eyewitness.

A friend of the victim, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “The man was playing the guitar when he became angry because youth workers were giving out lollipops to young people but not to others.”

After the victim approached the man, an altercation followed leading to the man becoming violent, according to witnesses.

Anyone with information or footage should call police on 101, quoting incident 312 of 21 September.