A man was victim of an "unprovoked and senseless attack" as he walked home after a night out in Lowton.
The 19-year-old man was walking home along Church Lane, close to St Lukes Junior and Infant School, shortly after midnight on Sunday when he was approached from behind.
A man tapped him on the shoulder before punching him in the mouth. The attacker then said: "Sorry, wrong person," before running away towards Golborne.
advertisement
The offender is described as white, 6ft tall and spoke with a local accent and deep voice.
The victim received a mouth injury that required several stitches and is now recovering at home.
Police Constable Chris Clarke of the Lowton Neighbourhood Policing Team said: "This was a unprovoked and senseless attack on an innocent young man who was quietly making his way home from an evening out with friends.
"I would appeal to anyone that may have witnessed the assault to come forward.
"I would also like to appeal directly to this man to address his conscience and hand himself in - you know you have attacked and injured an innocent man."
Anyone with any information is asked to call the Lowton Neighbourhood Policing Team on 0161 856 7229 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.