A TEENAGER was rushed to hospital after a vicious an assault in Weymouth.

Police say that the boy was approached by six young people and "punched multiple times in the head" by one of them near the skate park at The Marsh playing fields off Knightsdale Road.

The group reportedly fled the scene and the boy was taken to hospital with "several facial injuries."

The attack has prompted more calls for more CCTV to tackle crime in the area.

The incident occurred at around 5:30pm on Monday, January 19 but this information has only just been released as part of a police appeal.

READ MORE: Teenage boy treated in hospital after assault in Weymouth

Weymouth Town Councillor Gill Taylor says she is "absolutely horrified" and says her thoughts are with the victim. 

“I’m shocked and quite upset. Weymouth on the whole I’d consider a safe area. We've got plenty of police out there so people should be reporting this sort of thing in, even they think it's only minor stuff. I'm shocked its happened hope they're okay and I hope whoever the people involved are, are dealt with in an appropriate way.

Ms Taylor also added how an increased CCTV presence would help make the town feel secure. 

"We're still waiting for CCTV cameras to be sorted out around the area to help with finding out who did it. CCTV does help in trying to find the perpetrators while also giving the public a feeling of safety if there's a camera there."

Weymouth Town Councillor David Harris added that he was also shocked to hear about this incident. 

"Any assault like is unfortunate we don’t like to see them happen in Weymouth. I hope the boy assaulted able to get over difficulties as consequence of the assault."

"I am very disappointed as a town councillor this has happened. Fortunately in Weymouth there are fewer assaults in comparison to other parts of country. However, we must just work closely with young people to ensure they are not set upon by other people."

Dorset Councillor Clare Sutton added: "This is an extremely distressing incident. It is so important that all our young people feel safe and confident about using our public spaces and I would urge anyone who has any information which might help the investigation to contact the police."

Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police at www.dorset.police.uk or by calling 101, quoting occurrence number 55240025946.

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