A gang attacked and robbed two gay men on Sunday evening in a suburb of Reading, as they walked home from a party.

The two victims had been to a barbecue, and had been walking through Cintra Park in Whitley at 12:40 on Sunday night, when they were accosted by a large group of youths.

The attackers jostled the victims and shouted abuse at them.

One of the victims was punched in the face, causing his nose and tongue to be gashed. The other was shoved to the ground and was kicked and punched.

The gang, all aged 15 to 20, searched his pockets, and took cash and cards.

PC Nick Hook put out an appeal for information regarding the incident. He said: “We are investigating the incident as a homophobic hate crime which has left the victims understandably shaken.

“This incident is being treated extremely seriously. We will not tolerate hate crimes in our community and will be making every effort to track down and bring to justice those responsible.”

Those with information possibly relating to the incident can contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.