Five arrested over vicious ‘racist’ attack on girls, 15, outside school gates are banned from county
FIVE suspects arrested in connection with a vicious racially-motivated attack on a 15-year-old girl have been banned from Surrey.
The teen was punched, kicked and dragged by her hair outside Thomas Knyvett College in Ashford, Surrey, on Monday afternoon.
Shocking footage shows a mob brutally assaulting their victim in the middle of the road while being egged on by onlookers yelling “get her” and “down her”.
The girl allegedly had nine braids pulled from her head as she was hauled across the tarmac.
She and another victim, also 15, received medical treatment in hospital.
Five people have been arrested, including two 11-year-old girls, a 16-year-old girl, a woman, 39, and a man, 43.
All are now banned from Surrey as part of their bail conditions, police confirmed today.
A sixth suspect, a 15-year-old girl, is being urged to hand herself in.
A relative of one of the victims claims teachers did little to stop the ambush , which happened at around 2.30pm on February 6.
She is calling for staff members who were present at the time, including the headteacher, to lose their jobs.
The woman told The Mirror at a demonstration outside the school gates: “I want them to get rid of those teachers [in the video] and I want them to present us with their anti-racism policy.
“That’s the thing, it’s not a serious issue in this neighbourhood. There’s not enough black people.
“I asked the headteacher, ‘do you know what hurt me the most in that video?’ I was asking who’s going to stop it.
“Eventually I told him, ‘when you walked into the shot, you strolled in and you even allowed one more punch’.”
The family member said the victim, who was reportedly helping her friend at the time, is feeling “very lost and very sad”.
“She said, ‘nobody helped me and one of the teachers laughed at me with my braids on the floor’,” they added.
Her demands have been echoed by rapper Dave, who said: “We will wait outside your college grounds until every member of staff in the video is sacked.
“Do the right thing before we force you to.
“We need the principal out of that job ASAP.”
Headteacher Richard Beeson insisted student safety was a top priority.
He said: “We can assure you that we are taking all necessary steps to ensure this isolated incident is dealt with and that student safety is our paramount concern.”
Police described the “distressing” incident as a “serious racially aggravated assault”.
‘DISTURBING’
Chief Inspector Dallas McDermott today said it was “disturbing” and that he is “disappointed” with the reaction of the public in the video.
“Straight away when I was watching it, I was extremely shocked to see the level of violence that was used and the number of offenders that also targeted this girl – really shocking to see,” he said.
“I’ve had 23 years in the police, and as a police officer to watch that is disturbing, not just as a father.
“So I can understand how shocked, how angry, not just the local community are but the wider community to see such a vicious attack.”
He added: “What I can say from watching the video, I think it’s fair to say I was disappointed with the reaction of some of the public in the immediate area.
“What I’m saying, from what I’ve seen on the video, I just think there are a number of people in the area and it was just disappointing to see the reaction of people watching that video.
“People stood around filming, for instance. It’s just disappointing.”
Mr McDermott said although there are still pieces of evidence to gather, meaning the suspects were released on bail, they are subject to some “stringent bail conditions”.
Protests have broken out at the school in the days since, primarily led by anti-racism group Forever Family.
MPs have demanded an investigation amid an online backlash over the response of staff during the incident.
Of the arrests, four were made on suspicion of attempted racially aggravated grievous bodily harm, while two were for child neglect and intentionally encouraging and assisting the commission of an indictable only offence.
Another was on suspicion of malicious communications.
