Police have been left in the dark after being unable to find anyone in connection to an assault near a Coop store.

Officers responded to a call they received shortly after 9pm on Saturday, July 6, that a man had been assaulted on Portsmouth Road in Southampton.

However, when officers and other emergency service workers arrived, they could find no victim, suspect, or any evidence that an assault had taken place - despite searching the area.

It is believed the assault took place outside of the Coop.

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In a statement, a spokesperson for Hampshire Police said: “We were called shortly after 9pm yesterday evening (Saturday, July 6) to a report that a man had been assaulted on Portsmouth Road in Southampton.

“Police attended alongside our colleagues at South Central Ambulance Service, we conducted follow-up enquiries, and an area search however did not locate an injured person or anybody in the area who had witnessed an assault.”