A 49-year-old man was badly beaten in a late-night attack and left in an alleyway overnight with severe injuries.

Police say a passer-by found the victim slumped over a wall in the alley off Wilfred Road, Ramsgate, near the town's railway station shortly after 6.20am on Friday.

It is believed the beating happened some time after 11pm the previous night when he was walking to his home in Highfield Court after getting off a late night train.

He suffered serious injuries, including broken ribs, bruising and cuts around his chest. He was taken to the Queen Mother hospital at Margate for treatment. His condition stablised enough for him to discuss the assault with detectives who are hunting his assailants.

A police spokesman said: "It appears he was on his way home when he was attacked by a group of at least three men in their late teens or early twenties.

"Just prior to the attack he had been approached and had given one of the group a cigarette."

Anyone who witnessed the assault or who has information about the incident is asked to contact Det Sgt Marcus Whitnell at Thanet police headquarters, 01843 222 192.