London, Dec 4 (IANS): A 58-year-old Sikh man was kicked, pulled to the ground and an attempt was made to grab his beard in a hate crime incident by a group of teenage boys in a town in south east England.

Inderjit Singh was walking through Langley Memorial Park in Slough when he was approached by a group of young boys on November 21 at around 7 pm.

The offenders -- in between the age groups of 13-16 years -- circled the victim, kicked and pulled him to the ground before fleeing, the Thames Valley Police said.

One of the offenders also tried to grab Singh's beard, police added.

The victim sustained three broken ribs as well as swelling and cuts to his hand, and he was taken to hospital for treatment, but has since been discharged.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Holly Baxter, based at Slough police station, said they are investigating the case as a hate crime incident.

“I am appealing to anybody who was in the area around the time of the incident, which we were initially investigating as an incident of grievous bodily harm, but are now treating as a hate crime, to please get in touch with Thames Valley Police," Baxter said.

“We are currently conducting further patrols in the area and anyone with concerns should speak to a uniformed officer or contact us by calling or via our website," he added.

Police said that they take all reports of hate crime seriously and know that they have a devastating impact on individual victims and targeted communities.

They urged anyone with dashcam footage or any other potential recording to come forward and contact them.

Following the attack, Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha in Slough released a statement urging anyone who witnessed the attack or had any further information to contact the police.

“This is a request to anyone with information on this attack to please get in touch with us. We will provide the Sangat with further updates as and when we get them, the Gurdwara said in a social media post last week.