A 22-year-old man was left battered and bloodied on the roadside after a gang hunted him down in Hamilton Parish at the weekend.

Police said a group of men "brandishing various objects" attacked the father-of-two on North Church Lane at about 10.45 p.m on Friday, leaving him in need of surgery on his face. Three men from St. George's, aged 20, 21, and 22, have been arrested in connection with the assault.

The victim's terrified family told The Royal Gazette that at least 20 men on motorcycles and in cars came looking for him at their home in Midland Heights Crescent and smashed windows while demanding to see him.

The victim, who lives with his mother, was not at home and his sister and her husband, who live in an adjoining apartment, begged the mob to leave, fearing for the safety of their three young children.

A neighbour said he saw the gang shortly beforehand breaking windows at nearby Hamilton Parish Workmen's Club, also known as Crawl Club.

A Bermuda Police Service spokesman said there was a disturbance at the club in which a 25-year-old man from Hamilton Parish and a 31-year-old man from Warwick were injured. They were treated at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital for lacerations to the head and abdomen.

He said officers were linking that incident, the attack on the 22-year-old — who received lacerations to his head and body — and the report of wilful damage at the Midlands Heights Crescent home.

The 22-year-old man's sister, who asked not to be named, said she was bathing her 16-month-old daughter when she heard noises outside.

"It was very frightening," she told this newspaper. "There were roughly 20, maybe more, maybe 30. People on bikes and in cars aged from 15 to about 30. They were looking for my brother.

"I left bathing my daughter to come outside. That's when I noticed they had started smashing up all the windows."

She said her husband, 29, went to speak to the men, who were carrying bats and other weapons. "One of the guys said: 'Mash up the house! Mash up the house!'

"My husband said: 'Leave the yard!' They all crowded round him. As he came back into the house, that's when they bashed in the kitchen window. My husband was trying to get outside to them but I kept pulling him inside."

She added: "It all happened so quick. I was so upset, wondering what was going on. Soon after that, the guys left and I called 911."

She added: "We don't know what it was about but they say it was retaliation from something that happened up Crawl Club the night before. Apparently they were up Crawl Club first before they came here. They had to close the club down."

The woman said a local clergyman informed the family soon afterwards that her brother had been found bleeding on the ground in the Sleepy Hollow area and had been taken to KEMH in an ambulance.

The victim's family went to the hospital in the early hours of Saturday to see him and he was discharged yesterday. "He had facial injuries, lip injuries," said his sister, adding that he needed surgery to his lip.

"He was conscious but in a lot of pain. His memory was all chopped up. His memory is coming and going."

The neighbour told this newspaper that he was at Crawl Club when the gang showed up there. "I was leaving when I saw all these guys coming up on bikes and in cars," he said. "They were getting out of cars and running up the hill. They were roaming round like ants.

"It looked like around 15 or 20 bikes and everyone was towing. There was well over 30 people. Everybody had weapons."

He added: "I rode round the back side of the club. That's when I heard the windows breaking."

Crawl Club president Wade Simons would not comment on Friday night's disturbance. A club member said an incident occurred on Thursday night and this appeared to be retaliation for that by a gang from St. George's.

The Police spokesman said all three incidents were being investigated and urged witnesses to call St. George's criminal investigation unit on 293-2222.