A man was sprayed in the face with what could have been pepper spray and then hit with a baseball bat after confronting yobs in a North Oxford street.

The 28-year-old man asked a gang of three men to keep the noise down in Portland Road, Summertown, Oxford, on Sunday night.

But when the yobs began shouting again in the doorway of St Michael's Church Hall he came back to remonstrate and was attacked.

The men sprayed him in the face - possibly with pepper spray or CS gas - causing him to bend over.

They then smashed a baseball bat over his head causing a one-and-a-half inch gash which needed stitches.

Police said one of the men was white, 5ft 9in, skinny, in his late teens with short hair and wore a baseball cap and a dark sleeveless top.

Another was described as black, 5ft 7in of average build while the third was white or possibly mixed race. They also had a dark-coloured dog with them Anyone with information is urged contact police on 08458 505505 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.