A Halifax man is facing a sexual assault charge after police say he put his arm around a stranger on Spring Garden Road and kissed her on the neck.

At around 5 p.m. on Tuesday, a man approached a 37-year-old woman who was standing outside a building in the 5600 block of Spring Garden Road and asked her for a cigarette.

Two other men also approached and one of them "forced his lips on her neck," Halifax Regional Police said in a statement.

The woman pushed the man away, ran into the building and told security staff. They called the police.

Police found the three men nearby at the corner of Spring Garden Road and Brunswick Street. A 34-year-old man was arrested.

The accused is scheduled to appear in Halifax provincial court on Wednesday to face charges of sexual assault and breach of a recognizance. The other two men are not charged.

The woman did not know the three men.