The four men, all aged 20, allegedly assaulted a 19-year-old man, leaving him with a broken tooth and bruises.

Police said the man was punched in the head and beaten with sticks before being kicked numerous times while on the ground.

Police said the attack happened in front of a number of witnesses at the  Bridge Street taxi rank about 2.30am.

It’s believed the men had earlier been kicked out of Universal nightclub following an argument.

Sergeant Ilan Livingston said the offenders fled when police arrived.

“Police officers, who were on patrol at the time, chased them straight from the attack. One was caught in Rosalind park, another hiding in a laneway beside the old court house and the other two near Bendigo Senior Secondary College,” he said.

The four men were taken to Bendigo police station and will now face a summons hearing for assault charges.

Sergeant Livingston said the assualt was of a “serious nature”.

“The fact that it’s four-on-one, it’s a pretty brutal instance. It could mean very serious assault charges.”

Police have recently increased the amount of officers on patrol around Bendigo nightclubs in a bid to crack down on violence in the city. 

“We’ve had a big increase on the amount of patrols on Friday and Saturday nights,” Sergeant Livingston said. 

“They have been working, the last few weeks have been a lot better. 

“The goal is to make sure we have none of these incidents. But unfortunately instances like this continue to happen.”