Birmingham city centre mugging victim critically ill

Image caption, Police say the man was heading out for the night when he was attacked

A man is fighting for his life after being mugged by two men and a woman as he walked to meet friends.

The 23-year-old was kicked in the face and body by one of the men before being robbed as he lay near The Distillery pub in Sheepcote Street, Birmingham.

The gang fled along the canal towards the International Convention Centre (ICC) at about 18:20 GMT on Friday.

Police said the victim needed emergency surgery for head injuries and was in a critical condition in hospital.

The suspects were all described as Asian and in their early 20s. The woman was wearing a fawn-coloured scarf around her head, police said.

Det Insp Vanessa Eyles said: "It is terrible to hear that a young man who went out to socialise on a Friday evening has ended up fighting for his life in hospital.

"We urgently need to find out the identities of the three suspects and are appealing to people to come forward with any information that will help us to identify them."