A peace-loving family were attacked as they slept in their tent.

Matthew Rainbow, his partner and two daughters, including one-year-old baby Pippa, woke in terror as a gang slashed through their tent with sticks.

Mr Rainbow and his family had come to Brighton to try to organise a free ecological gathering where there would be music, cooking and topical debates.

They chose to camp for a night on Whitehawk Hill in Brighton with a friend.

But Mr Rainbow, 37 was forced to scramble out of the tent and defend his partner Katie, 28, and daughters Pippa and Bonnie, four, from youths wielding 6ft long poles.

He said: “It was too dark to see their faces.

I just knelt on one knee with my arm shielding the tent and kept shouting ‘there’s a baby in there’ over and over again, begging them to stop.

“I think there were about three of them.

“Eventually, we ran down the other side of the hill carrying the girls and knocked on doors until someone called police and an ambulance.”

Mr Rainbow, also known as Bear, was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital.

His arm had been broken in two places and he also had bruises over his body.

The attack took place at the old allotments site occupied by commune leader Hilaire Purbrick on Friday at about 11.30pm.

Mr Rainbow said: “We knew Brighton was the liberal capital of the country, with lots of open minded people, so we decided it would be nice to hold an ecological gathering.”

The family are now recovering at Katie’s father’s house in Heathfield.

Detective Constable Rex Petty is investigating the incident.

Anyone with information should contact Sussex Police on 0845 6070999 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.