Police are appealing for witnesses to a vicious attack on a workman on a job site in Hamilton on Monday.

Police say a 38-year-old Canadian was attacked in the new office building on the corner of King Street and Reid Street at lunchtime by an unknown man and a colleague following early verbal exchanges.

Police say the stranger asked the alleged victim for a cigarette and when he reached to get one started whipping him with an electrical cord.

The man was also kicked and punched and then threatened. Police spokesman Dwayne Caines said the alleged attackers escaped in a white car.

He said: "Police are investigating this incident and are appealing for witnesses. The complainant was taken to hospital for abrasions to the face and body and suspected broken ribs."