Mystery surrounds an incident whereby a man was injured in Bournemouth.

Dorset Police received a report that a man had sustained serious injuries to his face during the early hours of Sunday 4 December. The man, in his 40s, received hospital treatment and could not recall how he came to sustain his injuries.

Police Constable Jamie Spry, of Dorset Police, said: “We have been carrying out a number of enquiries to establish how this man came to be injured, but at this time we have not been able to confirm what happened.

“From our investigation so far we believe the man – who was wearing a two-tone grey hooded jacket, blue jeans and black shoes – was in the area of St Peter’s Road and Bath Road at about 4.25am and it does not appear he was injured at this point. He was then seen in West Cliff Road at around 7am, by which time he had sustained the facial injuries.

“I am appealing for anyone who may have seen this man in the area of Bournemouth town centre during the early hours of Sunday 4 December 2022, or who has any information as to how he came to be injured, to please get in touch.

“I would also urge anyone with dashcam who was driving in the area to please check their footage for the relevant time frame and make the same plea to residents with home CCTV or doorbell cameras.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police at www.dorset.police.uk/contact or by calling 101, quoting occurrence number 55220197291. Alternatively, independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling Freephone 0800 555 111.