A teenager has been arrested after a police community support officer was attacked.
A group of youths approached the on-duty officer at around 6.30pm on Wednesday in the Liverpool One shopping complex.
Merseyside Police say that he was punched during the ordeal which required hospital treatment for concussion, dizziness and soreness.
The officer’s colleague chased the offender before a 17-year-old from New Ferry was detained in Chavasse Park on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker.
Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said: “Every single day, our police community support officers provide a vital link between local communities and regular police officers.
“For one to be assaulted during the course of those duties is completely abhorrent and totally unacceptable.”