TWO masked thugs battered a man with a claw hammer in front of his terrified girlfriend as they walked home from the pub.

Detectives hunting the men say the attack was "completely unprovoked" and believe it may have been a case of mistaken identity.

The 38-year-old victim and his 28-year-old girlfriend had been drinking in pubs in Little Lever on Easter Sunday before leaving to walk home.

As they walked past flats in Hamilton Court at 12.30am the following morning, they were confronted by two men wearing balaclavas.

One of the men hit the victim several times with the blunt end of the hammer before fleeing.

He suffered cuts and bruises to his face and the back of his head.

Police have ruled out links to two earlier attacks by a hammer-wielding thug which happened two weeks apart and just yards from the latest assault.

Det Con Steve Riddle of Bolton CID said: "This was a nasty attack which left a man with quite serious injuries to his head and his partner badly shaken.

"He was lucky not to have suffered more serious injuries.

"We are not linking the attack to any which have happened previously in the area. In both those cases the attacker was a lone man attacking another lone individual.

"In the absence of any motive such as robbery, it is quite possible that this is a case of mistaken identity."

In early hours of Sunday, October 8 in Masefield Road, Little Lever, a 23-year-old man was walking home following a night out when a thug wearing a balaclava struck him on the head, arms, legs and abdomen before he fled.

In the second attack, in Coronation Square, at 1.15am on Sunday, October 22, a 38-year-old victim was left with a fractured skull and broken arm after being attacked as he returned from a night out at a nearby pub.

In the latest attack, one of the offenders is described as a white man, stocky, about 6ft tall, wearing a black balaclava, green jumper and dark gloves.

The second man is described as white, approximately 5ft 8ins tall and was also wearing dark clothing.

Anybody with any information is asked to contact Astley Bridge CID on 0161 856 0064 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.