A man was taken to hospital after he was hit over the head with a crutch at a Southend train station.

The victim, who is in his twenties, was walking through Southend Victoria train station in Queensway when he was attacked twice by a man wielding a hospital crutch.

The man was assaulted after a fight broke out between the two of them outside the ticket office of the station near to the town centre.

From the two blows to the head, the man sustained a severe cut on his cheek.

British Transport Police (BTP) are on the hunt for the man who struck the victim and have released CCTV images of a man they want to question in connection with the attack.

The man in the image is white, with short brown hair, wearing a blue hooded jacket and matching trousers, with a small satchel across his front and white running shoes.

The two images released by BTP showed the man as he was walking out of the station.

Commuter Elaine Bishop, 47, of Queensway, Southend, said: “I use the train station every day and it’s scary to think that a young man has been hurt in this way.

“I only hope that they knew each other or there was some kind of altercation, I wouldn’t like to think that it was unprovoked.

“It is quite scary to know that this has happened when I am always using that station.

“I hope that the man makes a full recovery and that the police manage to catch the person who did it before he attacks anybody else.”

The man in the CCTV images turned out of the main entrance and walked towards The Range store in Short Street.

He was also said to be with a woman as they were leaving the train station. The woman was not believed to have been involved in the fight.

Following the attack, which happened at about 3pm on Saturday, paramedics rushed to the scene to treat the man and take him to hospital.

Police officers taped off a section of the station’s main hall in the aftermath and officers and security remained at the scene for around three hours after the incident.

Commuters and residents said that there was still a police cordon around the station’s ticket office at around 6pm.

The station was not completely closed off from the public and trains continued to run despite the incident.

The car park also had to be closed off by BTP officers and the station could only be entered by the entrance beside Costa to the left of the main station entrance.

A spokesperson for Greater Anglia, which runs the station, said: “We are aware of an incident which happened at Southend Victoria station at 3.20pm on Saturday.

“We are helping the British Transport Police with their enquiries.”

The man’s injuries were not believed to be serious or life-threatening.

BTP are still looking for witnesses who can give any information about the incident.

The BTP spokesperson added: “Please get in touch with BTP by sending a text to 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40, quoting reference; 366 or 14/10/17.”

Alternatively, ring independent crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers anonymously.