'Happy slappers' attack student

Police in County Durham are hunting two wine-drinking "happy slappers" after a student was attacked and the incident filmed on a mobile phone.

The student, in his late teens, was set upon as he left Bishop Auckland Technical College on Thursday.

He was punched to the ground, then repeatedly kicked by one of the attackers, while the other filmed the brutal assault on a mobile phone.

The student escaped back into the college when passers-by intervened.

Severe cuts

A Durham Police spokesman said the attackers, aged in the early 20s, boasted to four women who intervened that they had carried out similar attacks earlier in the day.

The student, who has not been named, received treatment for severe cuts to his face and hands.

One of the attackers, described as skinny and spotty, had the word "hate" tattooed on his right knuckles.

Witnesses said both were drinking sparkling wine at the time.