A man is in hosptial with serious head injuries after an assault in Chadwell St Mary early this morning.

Police were called to Scott Road at around 12.50am after a man in his 40s was attacked by up to four youths as he walked from nearby Ruskin Road.

The youths, who were all male, are believed to have used lumps of wood as weapons.

Detectives are now trying to establish a motive for the attack and have urged anyone with any information about who is responsilbe, or anyone who saw any suspicious activity around Scott Road and Ruskin Road between 12.30 and 2.30 am, to contact them on 0300 333 44 44.