Newspaper delivery van hijacked in Belfast

A newspaper delivery worker was repeatedly punched in the head today before his van was hijacked in an early morning attack.

The man had just pulled into the Spar supermarket on the Lenadoon Road, west Belfast, when he was stopped by a car that swerved up in front of him.

A young man, thought to be in this 20s, jumped out of the passenger side of the dark-coloured Volkswagen Golf, demanding that the delivery worker get out of his van.

The worker was then pulled out of the van and punched several times in the head during the attack at around 5.30am.

Detectives said the hijacker then got into the van before taking off in the direction of Stewartstown Road.

The driver of the Volkswagen Golf drove off in the same direction. Police found the van later at 10.30am about five miles from the Spar supermarket in Cliftonville Crescent, in the north of the city.

Nothing had been taken from the van, police said.

The attacker is described as being between 5ft 8in to 5ft 9in tall and of slim build.

He was wearing a white Nike hooded top, a white baseball cap, white trainers and blue jeans.

Police have appealed for witnesses.