A Swedish man was walking in Balluta early yesterday morning when he saw three men suddenly turn around and attack a 25-year-old man who was with two women.

When the witness told the three aggressors to leave the poor man alone, he was hit in the head but, luckily, was not seriously injured.

The police said two men were arrested over the assault of the 25-year-old foreigner who was badly injured in the incident in Telgħat San Ġiljan at about 4am. The full extent of the injuries was not yet known to the police at the time of writing. Neither did they know his nationality.

The witness, who did not want to be named, said he was walking in the area, near to the Bank of Valletta ATM. Close by was the victim and the two women and in front of them were the three aggressors, who were “Italian or Maltese”.

At one point, they turned round and, for some reason, headed straight for the victim.

They kicked him in the head. I could not just stand there

He could not say whether the victim and the aggressors knew each other.

“The three men beat him really bad. They kicked him in the head. I could not just stand there, so I told them to stop.

“I told them they would kill him. They told me to back off unless I wanted to get a beating,” the witness told Times of Malta.

He said he stepped back and the men continued kicking the victim, who was on the ground, and the women were screaming. He again told them to stop and ended up being hit on the head.

He said he left when the police arrived.