'Shame on those standing by as a child is attacked in the street'

09 February 2023 , 09:47

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Footage of the attack was shared on social media (Image: Twitter)

I was taking my son to school when I heard a ping on my phone.

I had been sent a video by a friend showing a black schoolgirl being viciously beaten up by a violent gang of girls who took it in turns to punch, kick and tear out her hair.

The attack happened outside Thomas Knyvett College, a secondary school in Ashford, Surrey, in the middle of the day.

I watched it wondering if the savage attack was ever going to end.

As a parent, it was bad enough to see that level of violence against a defenceless girl.

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But what really got me was the ­attitude of the adults and bystanders.

On the video you can clearly hear an adult voice actively encouraging the gang to continue the horrific attack and to, among other things, kick her in the face.

Not one of the drivers, stuck in traffic as the fight spilled out into the street in front of them, got out of their cars to help.

How could they just sit there and watch it all unfold and not lift a finger to help?

Meanwhile, there are calls, including from actress Michaela Coel, for the headteacher Richard Beeson to be sacked after staff were filmed casually sauntering up to the group with no sense of urgency to finally intervene.

I know there are protocols to rightly keep teachers and staff safe, but when does common sense and humanity prevail?

Five arrests have now been made. But, is this who we are now? A country where we see a child being attacked and do nothing about it? How can we normalise such violence? And would people have sat by and just watched if the races had been reversed?

I hate to think that if the same had happened to my children they’d be on their own.

All kids should feel safe and be protected in and out of school. I hope and pray the brave victim is getting all the support she needs to deal with what happened and that she gets the justice she deserves.

Eva Simpson