A COUNCILLOR has urged the public to assist the police after a teenager was allegedly punched and kicked and told to remove his clothing by four men in balaclavas in Dorchester.

The reported robbery happened in Bowling Alley Walk, Dorchester, on the afternoon of Saturday, February 25.

A 13-year-old boy was in the town with three friends when they were approached by four males wearing balaclavas, who then spoke to the group for about 30 minutes before they reportedly turned on the victim.

The teenager was allegedly punched and kicked before demands were made for him to strip the clothing he was wearing, while a mobile phone and items of clothing were also stolen.

A 14-year-old local girl was identified and will be interviewed in connection with the offence, Dorset Police said, adding that an investigation to identify the other individuals involved 'remains ongoing'.

Dorchester town councillor Les Fry, echoed the police's call for the public to provide more information on the alleged robbery, which happened in broad daylight. 

"I am very disappointed to hear of this incident and my thoughts go out to the victim and their family," Cllr Fry said.

"I would reiterate that these incidents are rare in Dorchester and the surrounding area and luckily we do not have a lot of them."

The incident follows a separate robbery in Dorchester at the end of January which also involved a teenage victim. 

Cll Fry, who is an ex-police inspector, added: "Yes, we had another incident a few weeks ago but because Dorchester is a quiet, sleepy town, we are not used to these kind of major incidents and we do not have no-go areas.

"Hopefully there will be a positive outcome through the courts."

Police Constable Matthew Campbell, of Dorchester police, added: “I am appealing to anyone who witnessed this incident and has not yet spoken to officers, or knows the identities of those involved, to please contact Dorset Police.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police at www.dorset.police.uk/contact or by calling 101, quoting occurrence number 55230030310.

Alternatively, independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling 0800 555 111.