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The woman is scared that if she identifies herself she
will suffer reprisals by the boys |
Mum's Heath fears after attack by gang
Victim believes stone-throwing children
‘did it for fun’
A NEW mum is terrified of walking alone on Hampstead Heath
after she and her eight-week-old baby were attacked by a gang
of youths for “fun”.
A teenager punched the mother on the back of the head before
swearing and throwing stones at her and her daughter on Tuesday
afternoon.
The 36-year-old woman and her partner, who are frightened to
be named for fear of reprisals, recently moved from Canary Wharf
to South End Green in Hampstead because they wanted to bring
their first child up in a safe environment. But the attack on
a busy Heath on a sunny day has left the mother – a journalist
– shaken.
Describing her five attackers as “surprisingly young”,
aged about 10 to 14, she said: “I saw a smirk on their
faces. I felt a little anxious so I tried to walk past them.”
After they passed her, the tallest of the gang punched her hard
on the head. She said: “I can still feel it. I was shocked.
It took me some time to process what happened. They looked so
young. They were doing it for fun.”
When she confronted the boys, they ran a short distance before
the ringleader picked up some stones. She said: “He threw
one stone first, then picked up a handful. He threw them hard.”
Two other mothers who heard her shouts ran off to protect their
own children. A Heath ranger, who came to the woman’s aid,
called police. The victim added: “Police said the boys
were likely to do it again.”
The victim said the attack has changed her perception of how
safe her new home is. She added: “I see other mums on their
own with prams, thinking the Heath is safe during the day, but
I would hesitate to go back on my own with the baby. I would
probably wait until the weekend to go with my partner but, then,
what’s the merit of moving here?”
A spokeswoman for Heath guardian the City of London said: “The
Heath Constabulary responded immediately to reports of an attack
and officers have taken a statement from the victim. This is
the first time an incident of this nature has been reported
on the Heath.” |
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