German police have finally released CCTV images of 'Arab looking men' who allegedly beat up and robbed British tourists in Cologne - months after the attack.

The two Britons, who were both 18 at the time of the incident, were allegedly attacked by a group of six males, leaving them hospitalised.

The attack came in August when the two young men took a tram from Cologne's Cathedral Square, the site of the New Year migrant sex attacks in 2015, and they were set upon.

German police have finally released CCTV images of 'Arab looking men' who allegedly beat up and robbed British tourists in Cologne - months after the attack

When the two Brits got of the tram at Slabystrasse and walked towards the Muelheim Bridge over the Rhine, they were attacked.

The gang reportedly punched and kicked both men multiple times, stealing a mobile phone and a wallet.

The mob were said to be between 18 and 20 years old, with one of them described as being 'particularly large', while the others were said to be of normal build and 'Arab-looking'.

But Cologne police have only released the CCTV pictures now in the hope witnesses might recognise those who carried out the attack.

Cologne police have only released the CCTV pictures now in the hope witnesses might recognise those who carried out the attack

In Germany, the police are often slow to release CCTV footage of suspects, and are often hamstrung by local authorities' regulations.

In many cases, they only release images of suspects when all other means of solving a crime have come to a dead end.

In addition, authorities sometimes censor such footage out of fear it will incite racial hatred, as happened when a politician prevented the police from posting an appeal for help in the search for the suspect in the Berlin Christmas attack.

The attack came in August when the two young men took a tram from Cologne's Cathedral Square, the site of the New Year migrant sex attacks in 2015

Till Steffen, 43, head of the judicial authority in Hamburg, allegedly stopped the local police from posting a picture of Anis Amri, 24, who killed 12 in the attack, on their website.

In a much-derided statement, the Hamburg police claim they were only able to post a text about the fact that police had images of the suspect without actually posting the images themselves.

According to German media, Steffen justified his stance by saying that such posts on police websites could provoke insulting or inflammatory comments likely to inspire racial hatred.