A teenage boy was attacked and beaten by a gang outside a high school in front of horrified students.
The 15-year-old, a pupil at Alsop High School, was repeatedly beaten by a group of people, close to the gates of the Walton school shortly before 3pm on Monday.
Shocked pupils watched on as the boy was left bleeding on the footpath before paramedics arrived to take him to hospital.
The boy suffered head injuries before being taken away in an ambulance but his current condition is not yet clear.
Police were called a short time after paramedics arrived before the footpath was cordoned off by officers.
Witnesses said that a small cordon was erected at the school gates and piles of bloody tissue could be seen on the pavement.
A parent of a child at the school, told the ECHO: "My son said there was an attack at the school today.
"The area around the entrance to the school was taped off - there was blood all over the pavement that they had tried to cover.
"They made the kids leave out of a side entrance but obviously a lot of them saw it when they went past."
Police have described the attack on the young boy as "disturbing and sustained" and are asking for pupils, parents or carers who may have witnessed it to come forward.
A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: "Detectives are appealing for information following the assault of a teenager in Walton this afternoon, Monday, 27 January.
"Just before 3pm, police were called to a report that a 15-year-old boy had been assaulted by a group of males outside Alsop High School, sustaining a head injury. He was taken by ambulance to hospital."
Detective Inspector Sean Kelly-Martland said: "This was a disturbing and sustained assault of a teenage boy, who was leaving school at the time, and we're determined to find those responsible.
"I'd encourage any witnesses or anyone else who holds information, whether young people, their parents and carers, to come forward, and we will take the appropriate action."
Witness and CCTV enquiries are ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact @MerPolCC or 101 with reference 0610 of 27/1/20.
You can also pass information via Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or DM @MerPolCC.
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