A 64-YEAR-OLD woman was punched in the face by a teenage girl - after she asked the girl to stop stealing flowers from the gardens of elderly people.

The woman was walking along Moss Bank Way, Bolton, when she saw two girls and a boy ripping up flower beds.

She approached them and asked what they were doing.

One of the girls, aged around 16, reacted by punching the woman in the face.

She was left with a cut under her eye and a swollen face and rushed home to call the police.

Sgt Danny Brophy, of Bolton Police, said: "This lady has been left extremely shaken by what has happened to her. It was a very upsetting experience.

"All she was trying to do was to stop these young people stealing flowers from the elderly residents in the area and she was assaulted.

"This is unacceptable behaviour and I would appeal to anyone in the community who knows who was responsible for this to contact us. These individuals do not deserve to be protected."

The woman was walking along Moss Bank Way at 10pm on Friday when she spotted the yobs targeting gardens.

As she was attacked, the boy in the group tried to stop the girl from hitting the pensioner.

After she had been punched, the woman fled and called police when she got home.

The attacker was white, around 16 years old, 5ft 2ins tall, of stocky build with shoulder-length dark hair. She was wearing a dark jacket and spoke with a local accent.

During the attack, the woman managed to grab one of the girl's earrings.

The second girl was white, also about 16, slim, with streaky blonde hair. The boy was white, 14 years old with short, light brown hair.

Anyone with any information about the attack is asked to contact police on 0161 856 5769 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.