A MILKMAN was attacked by a gang of five men as he made his early morning deliveries in Easingwold.

Police believe there may be a link between the attack and an attempted burglary at a Costcutter shop, close to where the incident took place.

The milkman, who has not been named by police, but who was working for the York-based ACC franchise, was set upon by his attackers at about 3am on Monday morning.

He was in the middle of his milk round, and was at the rear of the Royal Oak pub, on Long Street, when he was assaulted after seeing the group.

He was initially attacked by two of the men, before the remaining three joined in. He suffered a cut to his left hand, and bruising to his back. The gang then ran off, while the milkman was admitted to York District Hospital for treatment.

Police later discovered a red, L-registration Nissan Cabstar pickup truck, which had been parked next to the neighbouring Costcutter store. Examining the shop, they found evidence of an unsuccessful break-in. The truck, it later emerged, had been stolen from Easingwold Market Place earlier that night.

Sergeant Simon Hepburn, area policing commander for Easingwold, said: "This was an unprovoked and unexpected attack on an individual doing his day's work, and we are obviously very keen to catch the people concerned.

"We would like to hear from anyone who was in the vicinity of Long Street at this time, and who may have seen either this group of men, or the pickup truck."

Tracy Knowlson, manager of the Costcutter store, also extended an appeal for witnesses.

"Three in the morning may seem a very early time, but there are a lot of people who go to work at that time in this area, so someone may have seen something," she added.

"It was also a very windy night, so chances are, a lot of people might have been kept up anyway and might have caught a glimpse of what was going on."

She said she was not sure of any connection between the attempted break-in and the assault on the milkman, but added: "I'm very grateful to him, if it turns out that he interrupted these people."

The men were all wearing dark clothing, and at least one may have been wearing a balaclava.

Anyone with information should contact North Yorkshire Police on 01609 783131.

Updated: 11:26 Wednesday, October 10, 2001