TWO robbers set fire to a young mother’s hair and brutally attacked her before running off with her phone.

In a shocking assault, the pair punched Siobhan Regan in the face and between the legs while she held a buggy with her baby resting inside.

The thugs approached their 24-year-old victim between 10am and 10.30am yesterday while she walked the dog and took her six-month-old son for a stroll in his pushchair around Shaftesbury Lake in Walcot.

Her father John Regan said: “She’s traumatised, it’s awful. She was in fear for her life.

“They asked her for a cigarette and when she said she didn’t smoke, they set her hair on fire and hit her.

“The dog then started barking at them so they ran off with her phone.

“I was so livid at her attackers and worried about her after her mum phoned and told me what happened.

“I could not believe it, I was shocked. Being mugged is bad enough but why would you set fire to someone? It’s just wrong.

“The one thing you want to do as a parent is to protect your child.

"She’s a devoted mum who wouldn’t hurt a fly.

“I’m worried about this happening to other people and I hope they catch whoever did this.”

Siobhan suffered reddening to her face as a result of the attack.

The crime has shocked Swindon. A Facebook post by John Regan about Siobhan’s awful experience has been shared more than 1,300 times and received hundreds of comments expressing shock and sympathy.

Friends and well-wishers described what happened as “terrifying”, “evil”, “scary”, “awful”, “shocking” and “disgusting”,

In a personal message about the attack on her own Facebook page, Siobhan said she was “anxious” and her “head is killing” after being attacked by “two scruffy men” but joked that she is now “rocking a dodgy haircut”.

Wiltshire Police appealed for information and witnesses to the incident, which may not have been a one-off attack.

Police described the first man as white, slim, with scars on his face and wearing a dark coloured hoody, jeans and a beanie hat.

The second man was white, slim and wearing a dark-coloured tracksuit.

PC Kayne Borresen said: “This incident is obviously very concerning and would have been frightening for the woman involved.

“We are very keen to hear from anyone who was in the area and may have seen these two men and could help with our enquiries.

“We have received a report of an incident in the same location yesterday where a woman was approached by a man in similar circumstances but he appeared to be spooked by a member of the public and he made off.

“We will be increasing patrols in the area following this incident and would ask anyone with information to call us on 101.”

Two PCSOs from Swindon South Police carried out reassurance patrols around the lake in the late afternoon and found that all was in order, only spotting a couple of dog walkers during their rounds.