A BLACKBURN man was punched in the face as he attempted to stop a masked thief from stealing his car.

Detectives have appealed for witnesses following the 'nasty' attack which happened in Royal Walk.

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Police said the male burglar broke in to the house as the man was upstairs asleep with his partner and child and stole keys to a blue Peugeot 206.

The 23-year-old victim is said to have gone downstairs after hearing loud noises in the house. After noticing the front door bad been forced open he looked outside and saw his car was being started up on the driveway.

Police said as he went outside to try and stop his car from being stolen, the burglar got out of his car and punched the man in the face, knocking him to the floor. He then drove off.

The car was found abandoned by police a few miles away in Ulverston Close.

The victim suffered bruising to his face during the attack, which happened at 7.30am on Saturday, but didn't require hospital treatment, officers said.

Police said the 'opportunistic' attacker is six foot white man and was wearing a balaclava.

Det Sgt Adrian McHugh, of Blackburn CID, said: "This was a nasty attack. But we are treating it as an opportunistic burglary as it doesn't seem a lot of planning went in to it. Enquiries are ongoing and I would encourage anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area at that time to contact Blackburn CID via 101, quoting crime reference ED1601459."