A young man was beaten into a coma in a brutal attack in a town centre.

Police disturbed a gang beating the 20-year-old near a covered shopping area early on Saturday.

The victim was rushed to intensive care at Worthing Hospital suffering from head wounds.

He later regained consciousness but his condition was still described as serious last night.

Three teenage boys have been arrested in connection with the incident.

Officers on foot patrol arrested a 17-year-old at the scene of the attack.

Another 17-year-old and a 16-year-old were arrested after they voluntarily attended Worthing police station on Saturday night.

All three have been bailed while police carry out further inquiries.

The attack in Worthing's Montague Centre, near the Laura Ashley store and McDonalds, turned the shopping parade into a crime scene.

Police cordoned off the area on Saturday morning.

Detectives are trying to find out how the victim had spent the evening, who he was with and where had been before they found him.

They declined to comment on the motive of the attack or whether the man knew the people who assaulted him at about 1.30am on Saturday.

Detective Sergeant Chris Jay said: "I would ask any member of the public who witnessed the assault or has any information to contact the police.

"Although we have arrested three individuals we are still in the early stages of the inquiry.

"We will be seeking information from any witnesses, if there are any, who have not yet notified the police."

Police are not believed to be looking for any other suspects at the moment.

East Worthing and Shoreham MP Tim Loughton said the Montague Centre attack is out of the ordinary for the town.

He said: "Given the epidemic of violent street crime we seem to be experiencing across the country, we should not be surprised incidents like this happen.

"The street violence record in Worthing has actually been quite good.

"This is an exception rather than the rule.

"Sensible policing in Worthing town centre has paid off and we hope this remains an isolated case."

Between 2006 and 2007 9,430 teenagers aged between 13 and 17 were arrested in Sussex.

Nearly 20 per cent of all people arrested in the county last year were under 18.

Nationally teenage violence has hit the headlines following the murders of 18-year-old Robert Knox, Jimmy Mizen, 16, Amar Asla, 17, and Lyle Tulloch, 15, in May.

The latest attack came after several violent crimes in public places involving young people in Sussex.

On May 9 a gang attacked a boy and his girlfriend twice in Goring, Worthing.

On May 22 in Victoria Park a 16-year-old was stabbed through the hand by two men who robbed him of his mobile phone.

The following morning two teenagers from Surrey left a man covered with blood near cashpoints at Churchill Square shopping centre in Brighton.

A bouncer at Brighton's Concorde II nightclub was stabbed in the back two days later.

Anyone with information about the Worthing attack should call DC Jay at Worthing Police Station on 0845 6070999 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

For more information about crime in your area visit the local information section of this website.