A MAN was punched in the eye and had his wallet stolen just moments after visiting a cash machine.

The 30-year-old was in Cardwell Street, Padiham, at about 2.10am yesterday when he was attacked by a group of three men aged between 17 and 19 who stole £220 cash.

One of the youths punched him in the right eye while another ran past him and a third stole his wallet.

The robbers ran off down a footpath to Shakespeare Street and went past the Shakespeare pub before the victim lost sight of them.

Police are appealing for witnesses and DS Simon Cheyte said: "This was a nasty incident and we would appeal to anybody who saw anything to get in touch."

All of the men are described as being white and aged between 17 and 19.

One was about 5ft 6in with short fair hair and wore dark clothing.

Another is of slim build, 5ft 9in and wearing a light coloured baseball cap with a darker peak, blue jeans and a pullover with a motif on the arm.

The third was described as 5ft 9in with short dark hair.