Police are looking for a thug hit a man in the face after he refused to hand over a £1 coin.

Paul Nicholls, 60, of Beeleigh Cross, Basildon, also suffered bruised ribs in the vicious attack, which left him on the ground and struggling for breath.

Mr Nicholls was attacked while walking through The Fryth, Basildon, on his way to work at 2 Sisters Food Group, in Harvey Road, when two cyclists demanded money.

When he refused, one of the men jumped off his bike and punched him in the mouth, breaking his metal denture plate.

Mr Nicholls, who is still off work as a result of the attack, said: “As I was walking, two youngsters came out of a side turning and started giving me grief.

“One of them said, ‘I think he deserves a smack in the mouth’.

“I said, ‘Do you mind leaving me alone. I’ve got to get to work’.

“I carried on walking and one of them asked me if I had a pound. I told them I didn’t carry change on me and said if I had one, I would give it to them, just to get rid of them.

“I crossed Barrington Gardens and I thought they had gone, but I only got another two yards, when one of them came alongside me. He said, ‘I’m talking to you. Look at me when I’m talking to you.’ He dropped his bike on the ground and gave me an almighty smack in the mouth.

“He broke a plate in my mouth with five teeth on it. I fell to the floor and hurt my ribs.

“It was just a random vicious attack, I have never seen them before.”

Mr Nicholls was taken to Basildon Hospital to have his broken ribs looked and and said that he was still struggling to sleep because of the pain.

The man who attacked him was in his early twenties, slim, with dark brown hair and was wearing a dark baseball cap.

A police spokesman said: “We are investigating the attack, at about 6.15am on August 8 in The Fryth, Basildon.

“Two unknown suspects on bikes approached the victim and one hit him in the mouth.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Basildon police station on 101, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.