A man was attacked with a machete as he walked along a busy Black Country road in broad daylight.

The 49-year-old suffered cuts to his head and body in the attack in Walsall  just before midday yesterday.

It happened near Manns Carpets on the main route which links the town centre to junction 10 of the M6.

He was taken to Walsall Manor Hospital with injuries that were described as not life-threatening.

Three men wearing balaclavas are believed to have carried out the attack. They fled in a Vauxhall Corsa and nothing was stolen. A police cordon was set up outside shops and around the junction with Raleigh Street  for several hours.

Residents in Wolverhampton Road were oblivious to the incident until emergency services arrived near their homes at around 11.35am.

One neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: “I heard the man got slashed across the waist. I was told they were wearing hoodies or masks and they got away in a car parked across the road. It is a bit of a shock for this to happen.”

Another added: “The first I knew about it was when I saw the police here and the cordon up. You just don’t expect anything like this.”