A 'good Samaritan' teenager and his friend were viciously attacked by a gang in the centre of Teignmouth.

The victims suffered severe facial injuries that needed hospital surgery, and the angry father of one of the lads declared: 'This was a cowardly, unprovoked attack and these animals need locking up.'

The most badly hurt was Dominic Falcao, the son of a local councillor, who sustained a fractured eye socket and cheekbone, and underwent operations at Torbay Hospital.

His friend, Benedick Weaver-Hincks, who was visiting from Modbury, suffered a broken nose, and also had surgery.

The assault appeared to be sparked off by a trivial incident at the carnival music festival on the Den on Saturday evening.

Dominic, 18, who has just finished his A-Levels and is probably going on to university, told a group of youngsters to 'lay off' after they began bullying a teenager who suffers from a disorder.

The situation seemed to calm down, but as Dominic and two friends were walking home just before midnight, they were followed by a gang of about eight.

The three friends were confronted in Quay Road, where they were threatened and set upon.

'Dominic would not respond to their taunts for a fight, so they started to attack his friend. Dominic was trying to come between his friend and one of the gang who was swinging punches, when he was struck in the face by a heavy blow, which caused all the damage,' said Cllr Falcao.

'The other lad was bleeding profusely, and had a broken nose. Dominic was also quite clearly badly injured and was taken to hospital for treatment. He was suffering double vision and needed surgery.

'It is too early yet to know if there will be any long-term consequences.

'This was a particularly cowardly and deeply unpleasant assault, and very upsetting. This gang obviously did not like being told off for bullying the lad at the music festival, and decided to stalk Dominic and his friends and take revenge. They had no idea they were being followed.'

Police are investigating the attack, and PC Neil Tomes appealed for anybody with information or who witnessed the incident, to come forward.

'It was totally unprovoked. The three lads were walking home and were not drunk, when two of them were punched hard.

'It was very unpleasant and we are also studying CCTV images to see if they can help us,' he said.

PC Tomes can be contacted at Teignmouth Police Station, and the log number to quote is 55.

Cllr Falcao added they were 'gratified and humbled' by the support from people in the town.

'There are a lot of caring people in Teignmouth, who are appalled at what has happened to a lovely group of lads.

'The effect on my family has been devastating, and is giving way to anger about this unprovoked and cowardly assault.

'Teignmouth is a small town, and I am confident that we will meet those responsible and their families in town. Somehow, they and our family will have to carry on living together, so the sooner this is sorted out, the better for all.

'I hope those lads that were present, and did not approve of what happened, will come forward to the police as soon as possible. They need to distance themselves from the extremely serious offences that took place.'