DETECTIVES investigating an attempted robbery near Chester are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

At 11.15pm on Thursday, August 9, a 49-year-old man was driving along Dodleston Lane towards Pulford after the railway crossing when he saw a small, light coloured Suzuki carry van which appeared to have crashed into bushes.

When the man stopped driving to check the people inside were okay, two men approached his vehicle and attacked him.

One of the men hit him in the face and grabbed at his clothing before both men dragged him out of his vehicle and demanded money.

The victim managed to fight both of the men off and they ran away from the scene empty handed.

One of the men is described as a white man aged in his early to mid-40s, around 6ft in height with very short shaved hair and well built. He was wearing a Nike tracksuit top and spoke with a slight Welsh accent.

The other man is described as white with a scouse accent and was wearing a red long sleeve top with two white stripes down the arm.

The victim received minor injuries to his body including small cuts to his hands, chest and legs.

Detective Constable Tom Philpotts, of Chester CID, said: "The victim was being a good Samaritan by stopping to see if anyone was hurt inside the car when these two men attacked him.

"As part of my enquiries I am looking at the possibility that these two men could have been in the area with the same van two weeks before this incident took place.

"If you saw anyone acting suspiciously, or have any dashcam or CCTV footage please get in touch by calling 101."

Anyone with any information is asked to call Cheshire Police on 101 quoting IML 150006 give the details via the general contact form on our website or by contacting Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.