The crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers is backing Walton Pier who are offering a reward of up to £1,000 for information after one of their night-watchmen was attacked on New Year’s Day [7 February 2012].

The 27-year-old man, who had been on duty since the early hours of the morning, was stabbed in the abdomen shortly after 4:30am on Sunday 1 January 2012. He had seen two teenagers drinking and smoking near the shutters outside of the pier.

When he approached the duo and asked them to move along one of them retaliated and struck out at him before they both ran off. The teenage assailants are described as white, with one wearing a grey top and the other a black hoodie. They ran off towards Woodberry Way.

The victim was rushed by paramedics to Colchester Hospital where he underwent treatment and is now recovering at home.

Now the independent charity, which allows people to give information anonymously, has stepped in to help catch those responsible.

'Unprovoked attack'

Ann Scott, Eastern Regional Manager for Crimestoppers, said: “This is an unprovoked attack on someone simply carrying out his job. I urge anyone who has information, however small, to contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via www.crimestoppers-uk.org.

"They have nothing to fear by contacting Crimestoppers as we never ask for your name or take any personal details. Calls/IP addresses are not traced, calls are not recorded and you won’t have to make a statement to the Police or go to court. We only want to know what you know, not who you are. In the 24 years that we have been running we have never broken our promise of anonymity”.

'Justice can be done'

Andrew Green, Operations Director for Walton Pier, added “Walton is a safe place to live and holiday - this incident has shocked local residents. We are offering this reward because we are desperate that those responsible are found and justice can be done.

"Please come forward to the Police or to Crimestoppers if you wish to remain anonymous. We need to identify these attackers before they are the given the opportunity to strike again”.

The reward of up to £1,000 will only be offered for information given to Crimestoppers via 0800 555 111 that leads to the arrest and charge of those responsible for this attack. Police also want to hear from anyone who may have found discarded sharp implements in the area. Information given through the secure form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org or directly to the police will not qualify.