SHOPPERS looked on as a man was glassed in the face by robbers in the centre of Walthamstow.

A large section of the Arcade site, on the corner of Hoe Street and High Street, was cordoned off by police following the incident at around 12.35pm today.

Two young men knocked a man to the ground, before kicking and punching him and taking his mobile phone and cash.

He was then glassed when he got up, before the two ran off towards Walthamstow bus station.

Seneke Sillah, 36, of Bisterne Avenue, Walthamstow, witnessed the attack.

He said: "I told them to stop attacking him, he was covered with blood.

"It is really sad, really serious, this could have happened to anyone."

Mr Sillah said the two assailants looked about 15 or 16 years old, but could not remember what they were wearing or what they looked like.

The victim was taken to hospital in an ambulance.

He was breathing and conscious when paramedics arrived.

An event calling for extra police officers to be drafted into Waltham Forest was recently held at the scene of the attack.