A gay couple were beaten to the ground by a group of four men in Florida for holding hands on the beach on Sunday evening.

The couple, who were holding hands near a bathroom stall on Miami Beach in Florida, were targeted by the four men on Miami Beach.

They suffered an attack that an intervener described as “nearly killing” one of the men, reported The Miami Herald.

One of the men was said to shout maricon, a Spanish slur aimed at gay men, before attacking the couple.

The attack, which took place at 7.40pm on Sunday, was carried out by a group of four young adult men, with one wearing a Florida International University T-shirt.

Video footage of the incident shows the men beating the couple to the ground.

A man named Helmut Muller who was sat on a bench nearby intervened to help the victims, who had sustained multiple bruises to their faces.

“It happened so quick,” said Muller, 29. “They almost killed this guy, literally.”

Muller said that the attack was completely unprovoked.

“I don’t agree with it,” he said to the Miami Herald.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re gay or straight, we all should respect each other.”

One of the victims spoke to news channel NBC6 about the gruelling attack, and defined it as a hate crime.

Gay couple says they were just holding hands when they were attacked on Miami Beach during Pride. @MiamiBeachPD looking for 4 suspects. @nbc6 pic.twitter.com/lCSMXP7GRf — Jamie Guirola (@jamieNBC6) April 10, 2018

“For me, the way we were dressed and everything and we were together, for me it was like, yes, it was a hate crime,” said one of the victims.

Miami Police are asking for help to identify the men involved in the attack.

Three of the attackers have been described as Hispanic white males, each about 5 foot 8, and between the ages of 19 and 24.

Anyone with information should call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.