A teenager has been left with “life-changing” injuries after a “truly vicious assault” which saw him repeatedly punched in the face with a knuckleduster and sprayed with a noxious substance.
The 18-year-old was set upon in an unprovoked attack by three men on Bexley Road, Greenwich, after he got off a Route 286 night bus in the early hours of Saturday.
Met Police believe the teen tried to avoid the men, who began harassing him after he tried to move out of the way.
“A verbal altercation then followed during which the males swore aggressively at the victim, before one pulled out a knuckleduster and punched him repeatedly in the face,” the force said in a statement.
“Another of the suspects pulled out a small bottle containing a clear liquid and threatened the victim before spraying it at him.”
The alleged attackers ran off towards Avery Hill Road as the victim made his way to a hospital in south-east London, where police were called shortly before 1am.
The victim suffered a fractured eye socket and a broken nose.
Police said tests are ongoing to determine what the substance used in the attack was.
Detective Constable Dan Newbury, of Greenwich Borough, described the assault as “truly vicious”.
“The victim was minding his own business on his way home when these three males have confronted him and left him with injuries that are possibly life-changing,” he said.
The suspects are described as white and aged between 18 and 25 years old. They were all wearing tracksuits.
The man who punched the victim had short blond hair and was around 5ft 10ins tall. The second and third suspects were around 5ft 8ins tall and also had short blond hair.
Police want to hear from anyone who was near Bexley and Avery Hill roads during the early hours of Saturday.
Anyone with information is urged to contact officers at Greenwich police via 101, quoting incident number 256/16 June.