A POKEMON hunter enjoying a relaxing late-night stroll through Colchester town centre was chased, beaten and robbed by a group of threatening thugs.

Self-confessed nerd Kyle Henderson, 23, admits he often goes out late in the evening to enjoy the popular virtual game Pokemon Go.

But the father-of-two was left to stagger home bruised and beaten after he was chased along Lion Walk, in Colchester, by a mugger, at around 11.45pm on Tuesday.

Now Mr Henderson says he fears going into Colchester alone after 10pm after the attack left him struggling to walk.

“I am a bit of a Pokemon nerd and I often find that going out later is better, the kids are in bed and I don’t get much time to spend on my own,” he said.

“I was out playing a bit of Pokemon Go, walking through Lion Walk, when this group came round the corner.

“I heard one make a comment to one friend and laugh.

“Another one came up and said ‘Yo man, what you got for me?’ “I just thought I’m not going to give them the time of day and kept walking.

“As I turned around to carry on walking, one said again ‘What you got for me?’ and after I heard that a second time I thought I’m going to run.

“I’ve got two kids to think about, I was on my own with three of them, I was in a situation where I would come off worse.

“One guy gave chase to me, the other two guys followed slowly but this one guy was sprinting after me.

“He grabbed my arm, pulled me towards him and punched me on the back of the head.

“I fell to the floor and grazed my knee and elbow.”

Mr Henderson was attacked between River Island and Boots, with the muggers snatching a phone charger before fleeing.

But the victim’s horrible night was far from over as he still had to find his way back to his home in Hythe Hill.

“I was actually on my way home at the time, there was no-one around and the first people I saw were a group who had heard me calling for help,” he said.

“There were about ten of them and they were drunk, they just mocked me and laughed.”

He added: “This sort of thing knocks your confidence.

“I had a big old lump on the back of my head and my knee is in a bad way.

“I can’t put any pressure on it, I went to the zoo with my kids yesterday and the amount of breaks I had to have was ridiculous.

“I probably enjoy the game too much and I refuse to go out any time after 10pm now.”

One mugger is described as 5ft 7in, with brown hair, wearing a grey bomber-type jacket, while another is described as around 6ft, with short black hair and thick eyebrows.

All three are described as between the ages of 16 and 20.

Anyone with information can contact Essex Police on 101.