A police officer was beaten to the ground and his colleague punched in the jaw in a terrifying attack by a mob of up to 30 schoolchildren in south London, Scotland Yard revealed today.

The two officers were on routine patrol in Lewisham when they were set upon by the group of teenagers after they spotted a youth trying to hide a large knife.

The attack took place at 4pm on Wednesday November 9 on Goodwood Road near the junction with New Cross Road but the Met only released details of the incident today.

After trying to search the suspect seen with the knife, one of the officers was punched in the face several times by some of the other youths, causing him to fall to the ground.

When the second officer stepped in to help her colleague she was punched in the jaw.

Police say the group continued to assault the officer on the floor by repeatedly kicking him in the head, leaving him with serious bruising.

They were rescued by colleagues after calling for urgent assistance.

The male officer was taken to a south London hospital as a precaution for his injuries.

A 15-year-old male was arrested at the scene on suspicion of actual bodily harm and was taken to a south London police station. He has been bailed to a date in mid-December.

Today police in Lewisham said passers-by filmed the attack on their mobile phones and appealed for them to come forward.

Detective Sergeant Jenny White, of Lewisham Police, said: “I’m appealing to anyone who witnessed this shocking attack on two officers to come forward and speak with us, particularly anyone with mobile phone footage of the incident.

“It happened at a very busy time of the day and there would’ve been a large number of people in the area.

“These officers go to work every day to keep the public safe and this demonstrates the dangers the police can face while carrying out these duties.”

Anyone with any information is urged to contact Lewisham CID on 020 8284 8365 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.