Gang victim 'lucky to be alive' after brutal assault in Abbeydale
THE victim of a horrific gang attack has said he thought he was going to die.
A vicious group of up to 20 teenagers and adults launched a battery of kicks and punches at their 27-year-old target as he walked home from the pub in Abbeydale on Sunday evening.
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ATTACK: Heron Way.
He and his family are so scared of being attacked again they asked to have their identities protected by The Citizen.
The all-male gang knocked the man unconscious, punched his girlfriend in the face, searched him and stole his £40 watch.
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Then, in a sickening twist, broke his leg in two places while he lay knocked out on the ground with his hysterical partner watching on.
It happened in Heron Way, while it was still light, at about 7.30pm.
He said: "I was walking back from the pub and my girlfriend was walking to meet me. There were a couple of kids staring at me so I just said 'all right' then one said 'are you going to start on a 16-year-old?'.
"I just carried on walking then looked around and there were 10 or 15 of them following me – I'd say from about 15 to 24 years old. That's the last I remember. If my girlfriend hadn't been there and called the police I honestly don't think I would be here now."
He was punched in the side of the head, knocking him out. His girlfriend, who was by this time on the scene, said: "I thought the worst, I thought they were going to kill him. One of them punched me in the face and I was just screaming at them to stop."
The victim's leg was broken in two places and all his ankle ligaments have been torn. He is recuperating at home in Abbeymead and will have an operation on Thursday.
Doctors have told him it will be six weeks before he can walk and three months before back to normal.
His dad said: "They are pure scum. There was a good chance he was dead, they knew that, but still they rifled through his pockets to steal his watch. That's not human."
Police are expecting to release e-fits of the suspects in the next few days.
A spokesman said: "This was a particularly nasty incident. We are not sure what, if anything, provoked this incident and clearly we need to find those responsible as a matter of urgency."
Call 101 citing incident 430 of August 26.
Comments
by thomas99
Tuesday, September 04 2012, 2:13PM
“There is a growing problem in the Abbeymead/Abbeydale area with young people, from teenagers to people in their early twenties, both male and female, congregating in large groups in parks in the area and outside the Morrisons Supermarket. With regards to the Morrison's store, they sit on the benches and the bicycle lock up area. This isn't so much a problem during the day but when it gets darker, this is even more intimidating for people waling by. The group of youths also gather on the disabled access ramp that provide access to the car park as you come from Heron Way. I have been witness to such youths abusing residents as they walk by and saying some truly disgusting things. It is widely believed that a number of the youths come from areas such as Coney Hill, Matson and Robinswood. I am unsure of the best solution of how to tackle this problem of anti social behaviour, but maybe a more visible police presence in the area will deter such behaviour and maybe 'naming and shaming' some of the youth with their faces in shop windows or in the local media. Something needs to be done, because with men leaving the local pub, it is only a matter of time before one of these 'kids' abuse or start 'mouthing off' at a local resident and that resident will react in a way that the 'kids' wont like, and despite whether or not it is right or not, they will deserve it.”
by danm77
Monday, September 03 2012, 9:28AM
“I know Heron Way well its a very busy throughfare and has a lot of houses overlooking the main road, even on a Sunday night people surely would have seen something. 20 men beating a man unconcious and there was no noise, nobody saw anything? I can fully understand why people didnt want to get involved at the time and get their heads kicked in too, but why did nobody call the police? There are enough houses on that road that have their lounges overlooking the main road come on get on the phone to the police and shop these people!
I have lived in Abbeydale for over 30 years and have never heard of anything like this happening there before, I hope this was an isolated incidet.”
by Alf58
Monday, September 03 2012, 8:37AM
“If these kids were not allowed to run around, roaming the streets without supervision at an early age, then they would not grow up into lawless, senseless teenagers/youths with no interest other than behaving like pack animals. It is down to parents to actually parent their children, which seems to be a dying art these days......”
by eyeopener
Sunday, September 02 2012, 10:14PM
“ShorterNews nobody is suggesting it is ALL the youth clubs closing that is to blame but they are saying that providing positive alternatives such as youth clubs makes a difference.
As TIG's article of the 1st September - "Project in memory of police officer cuts crime in Hester's and Whaddon" showed when comparing May to July this year to the same months in 2011, figures for Hester's Way, Cheltenham showed:
* Overall crime fell by 13.5 per cent from 185 to 160.
* Violent crimes fell from 34 to 29.
* Criminal damage dropped from 46 to 27.
* Drug offences fell from 14 to 6.
These are pretty impressive figures. Apart from knee jerk reactions like saying "Utter Tosh" what have you to show otherwise? Indeed have you any positive suggestions with evidence to back them?”
by ShorterNews
Sunday, September 02 2012, 9:13PM
“Yeah... it's all the youth clubs closing that is to blame. Utter tosh.”
by Kay_Powell
Sunday, September 02 2012, 9:01PM
“LordGagas, try Googling daylight attack, and see how many results you get. Some of them are by gangs of young men.”
by TheMoanerLisa
Sunday, September 02 2012, 7:14PM
“I am sure gangs of this type and size just dont suddenly form when they spot a potential target. They are usually well established groups of young spotty wannabee gangsters who wear market grade clothing and would be laughed at in any other larger city. Thick stupid bumpkins playing at being hard thats all this little firm are. What is missing here is local police intelligence of any group of this kind that hand around dumps like Abbeydale/Mead - not in sleepy gloucester though - too busy doing their paperwork for some poor s0d that had a worn tyre.”
by Pebbles23
Sunday, September 02 2012, 7:08PM
“Common in the slums but not where I live than you very much.”
by LordGagas
Sunday, September 02 2012, 6:51PM
“why must it happen sometimes, Kay?”
by Kay_Powell
Sunday, September 02 2012, 5:20PM
“Gangs of 15 to 20 thugs do sometimes roam around the streets of Gloucester, looking to cause trouble. It is very uncommon during daylight, I'll grant you, but it must happen sometimes.”