Mum’s horror as schoolgirl ‘punched, kicked and slapped in 20-on-1 park attack’
A heartbroken mum has recalled the moment her 15-year-old daughter was set upon by a group of 20 boys and girls in a horror beating.
Annaleese O’Neill was punched, kicked and slapped by the children – some of whom were still dressed in their uniforms – whilst walking home from school in Westbridge Park, Stone, on March 6.
Her mum, Helen O’Neill, is now speaking out in a bid to prevent such horrific assaults from happening again – and wants swift justice to be dealt against the perpetrators. She said: “The police need to catch them. I want them to face criminal charges.
“Most of the ones who did the real damage are in an age group where they can be criminally charged and brought through the law system. That would allow for closer monitoring of their behaviour, helping prevent something like this happening again. They said because there’s so many involved that it’s going to take a couple of days to have them all arrested. They’re hoping to have them under bail conditions, so that they’re not allowed to go near her do she’ll be protected.”
Helen says the town has seen a rise in anti-social behaviour involving children, bringing unease to the community. She explained: “If you look at the post on the Stone Facebook community group, there’s about 156 comments talking about the things that happen in this town and how angry and frustrated everybody is. Some people are even saying to take the law into your own hands – people are fuming.
“Everybody in the community has been very supportive. I’ve only lived here a few years, so they’ve banded together and given me as much information as they can”, the mum told StokeonTrentLive. “People have been offering Range Rovers and Dodge Challengers to take her to prom in, to make her feel special. I know a lot of people have been emailing on my daughter’s behalf to have cameras put up around the park.”
Helen has also called on Stafford Borough Council and Alleyne’s Academy to improve their anti-social behaviour measures by bringing in more security. She added: “I want more security in Stone – especially in that park. We’ve spent all that money to do the park up yet children can’t walk through it safely. It’s been going on for quite a while now.
“Jill Hood, one of the councillors for Stone, has been phenomenal. She said how sorry she is that this has happened and that she understands there’s a lot of anti-social behaviour going on at the minute. She said the council has leftover money they’d like to use to install CCTV.
“Schools also need to step up. A lot of children seem to have this impression that because it’s happened outside of school, it’s exempt from punishment. I don’t know where they got this idea from, but that’s what they think. The schools definitely need to crack down on stuff like this – most of the attackers were still wearing their uniform. They’re representing the school whether they’re outside or not, and kids should feel safe wherever they go.”
Alleyne’s Academy confirmed it was aware of the incident and co-operating in ongoing investigations. Headteacher Lindsay Tibbs stated: “We are very shocked to hear about the events at Westbridge Park which involved both members of our Academy and the wider community. We take the behaviour of our students very seriously both inside and outside of our buildings.
“We are liaising closely with families about ongoing investigations and will act to make sure that all children feel safe. We recognise that this incident is part of wider issues in Stone and we are proactively working with the local PCSOs to address anti-social behaviour in town.”
Staffordshire Police are continuing to look into the assault. A force spokesman said: “We’re investigating a report that a girl was repeatedly assaulted by a group of young people in Stone. The girl was walking in Westbridge Park, Stafford Street, at about 4.30pm on Thursday when she was approached by a group of around 20 young people. Girls and boys were in the group at the time. The victim, aged 15, was punched, kicked and slapped.”
Anyone with information is asked to call 101, quoting incident 97 of March 6. To report anonymously, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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