A major search is underway for three men after a man was attacked with an axe, metal poles, and nail-studded sticks in front of beachgoers and children at Bondi Beach.
Paramedics were called to the grass area at the northern end of the beach at 1.15pm to reports of a man suffering head injuries as a result of an assault.
9NEWS understands 34-year-old Michael Nicholas was sitting on the grass with his girlfriend when he was set upon by the men and beaten for some time.
A witness told nine.com.au the attackers were wielding "thick planks of wood with nails sticking out of them".
"You can imagine the sound when those nails were puncturing his skin," the witness said.
"He looked up and all you could see was red. His face was drenched in blood.
"They just kept hitting him in the face while he was on the ground."
When asked if the attackers appeared concerned about the dozens of onlookers, the witness said the men "didn't seem to care at all".
Several thousand dollars in cash were discovered in Mr Nicholas' pockets while he was being treated by paramedics, before he was taken to St Vincent's Hospital in a stable condition.
Police are searching for the three attackers, believed to have fled in a white Mercedes with the number plates covered.
Witnesses have described the men as well built, in their 20s or 30s, and possibly middle-eastern.
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