A STUNNED teenager suffered a broken nose after being punched in the face by a road rage driver while he was sat in his car on the A120.

Joe Nichols, 19, had just exited the Marks Farm roundabout in Braintree when the unprovoked assault took place.

Mr Nichols had been travelling to work from his home in Great Bardfield when he was forced to slam his breaks on because the car in front of him had unexpectedly come to a sudden halt.

He said: “I was on the roundabout and going off towards Coggeshall and I could see this guy in the car next to me shouting abuse at me and beeping his horn.

“We both went off at the same exit, so I let him go in front to try to avoid any problems.

“But he slammed his breaks on right in front of me, so I had to do the same.

“My car didn’t touch his, but the next thing I saw was him getting out, slamming his door and walking over to me screaming and swearing at me.

“I only had my window down a bit but he came right up to it, got his hand inside and punched me in the face.”

The angry motorist swiftly returned to his vehicle and then drove off from the scene.

A stunned Mr Nichols continued his journey to his work in Feering before he made the decision to report the attack to the police.

He later went to hospital and was found to have suffered a fractured nose as well as a chipped tooth during the assault.

Essex Police have now launched an investigation into the attack and are appealing for anyone with information on the driver, or who may have witnessed the assault, to come forward.

Mr Nichols added: “I was just in shock after it happened and didn’t know what to do.

“I didn’t want to get in the way of everyone else driving to work which is why I drove off.

“I’m hoping someone saw what happened.

“I’ve had messages on Facebook from other people who say they’ve had similar issues with this guy.

“There’s not a lot you can do about this sort of thing, but I guess I’ll be watching a lot more closely when I’m driving around there again.”

The suspect was said to be driving a dark grey Volvo V-90.

He is understood to be in his mid to late 50s, with thin grey hair, and is around 5ft 8in tall.

The incident happened at 8.30am on Monday, March 16.

Anyone with information or dashcam footage should contact police on 101 quoting crime reference number 42/41517/20.

You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.