A man is facing sexual assault charges Wednesday after a woman was grabbed and kissed on the neck by a stranger on Spring Garden Road on Tuesday evening, Halifax police say.

According to police, a 37-year-old woman was standing outside a building in the 5600 block of Spring Garden Road at about 5 p.m. when a man approached her and asked for a cigarette.

Two other men the woman didn't know then approached her — one of them putting his arm around her and forcing his lips on her neck.

The woman pushed the man away and ran inside the building and told security, who then called police.

Officers located the trio of men shortly after at the corner of Spring Garden and Brunswick streets and a suspect was arrested.

Ian Hegloy Ludlow Gardner, 34, of Halifax has been charged with sexual assault and breach of recognizance and was held in custody overnight. He is scheduled to appear in Halifax provincial court on Wednesday.