A man was assaulted by a group of men minutes ago, in front of the Middelburg Observer’s premises in Meyer Street.

As journalists ran to the scene, one of the men demanded that a journalist delete his footage, as well as hauling threats afterwards, suggesting that the Middelburg Observer would “k@k” if they did not.

According to eye witnesses, the man was being assaulted after stealing a cell phone. His attackers then pursued and caught up with him, where they landed front and centre on the paper’s stage.

After being recorded, the crowd continued to kick and beat the man with a stick, before frog-marching him away.

• A handful of onlookers can also be seen in the video, who were not witnessed engaging in the assault.