Qala mayor Paul Buttigieg has filed a police report alleging he was assaulted and threatened by a man who works for a "well-known Gozitan developer".

Buttigieg confirmed with Times of Malta that he filed a report over the incident, which he says happened on Tuesday afternoon while he was with some workers overseeing cleaning works in his locality.

"A truck driver rushed out of a truck and assaulted me physically, shouting at me and telling me, "Int imqabbad magħna' [You are picking on us]," he said.

The mayor claimed the man swore at him, shoved him to the ground, and then left. The attack resulted in minor injuries.

He said the man was an employee of a "well-known Gozitan developer", but would not mention his name.

Buttigieg is a Labour mayor but has been vociferously critical of overdevelopment in his hometown and in Gozo in the past years. He has been especially active in campaigning for Ħondoq ir-Rummien to remain unbuilt and fully accessible to the public.

"This attack is further proof that some cowboys think they own Gozo and do not even want us to protest against the way they are ruining it," the mayor wrote on Facebook shortly after the incident.

"I am not going to lose heart and will continue standing up against the destruction of Hondoq, Qala and Gozo."

The Gozo Regional Council later condemned the incident.