Austria police are investigating a brutal assault in Salzburg after an Iraqi asylum seeker was attacked by a gang of Romani gypsies.

The Iraqi migrant was forced to flee for his life after asking a group of five Romanian beggars for a drink. One threw a beer in his face and punches started to fly.

Things turned ugly for the unidentified 27-year-old after he tripped over a concrete barrier while making his escape and tumbled – allowing the gang to catch up with him. The man had to be rushed to hospital for treatment of a broken jaw, cheekbone, and eye socket, reports the daily Heute.

Police released details of the brawl, which took place outside the now heavily guarded main railway station and was witnessed by both police and army officers yesterday – some ten days after it took place. All five beggars are being held in custody, and one has confessed under interrogation.

Coming against a background of worsening public opinion about the extraordinary number of migrants travelling through the country to northern Europe, news of intra-migrant violence is unlikely to soften views.

Kronen Zeitung reports 86-per-cent of Austrians now believe there should be tougher rules for migrants, with just one in ten believing the present system is appropriate. The research also confirms the primacy of this issue in Austrian life – support for harsher rules for immigrants remains constant across the sexes, and whether people are churchgoers or not.

On almost all other issues the nation is more divided, finds the report. The Austrians interviewed come down roughly half-half on whether the nation should quit the European Union, whether gay married couples should have the right to adopt children, and whether climate change is exaggerated.