Five arrested over racist attack on black schoolgirl, 15, are banned from Surrey
Five suspects arrested over a racially-motivated attack on a 15-year-old black girl have been banned from Surrey, police have confirmed.
Shocking footage was shared on social media earlier this week appearing to show the pupil being punched, kicked and having her hair pulled outside Thomas Knyvett College in Ashford, Surrey.
A number of arrests have been made by investigating officers, including a 39-year-old woman, 16-year-old girl and two 11-year-old girls on suspicion of attempted racially aggravated grievous bodily harm.
The woman and a 43-year-old man were also arrested on suspicion of child neglect and intentionally encouraging and assisting the commission of an indictable-only offence.
Police are still searching for a 15-year-old girl in connection with the incident (mirror.co.uk)
Chief Inspector Dallas McDermott described the incident as a 'vicious attack' (mirror.co.uk)Surrey Police has this afternoon confirmed 'stringent bail conditions', including being banned from entering Surrey.
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Chief Inspector Dallas McDermott said: "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.
"I've said that (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.
There's a certain threshold we need to get to get evidence and get charges. Unfortunately we weren't quite there yet. There's some key pieces of evidence that we need to present to the CPS so we're doing that as swiftly as we can.
People at the protest held outside Thomas Knyvett College this week (Thabo Jaiyesimi/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock)"We can't just rely on the video for evidence in this case. We've had to release them on bail but they've been given some stringent bail conditions and one of those conditions is that they can't enter Surrey."
More than 100 people attended a protest held outside the school on Wednesday and on Thursday MPs demanded an investigation following an online backlash over the response of school staff during the incident.
Mr McDermott, who works in neighbourhood policing in North Surrey, said a number of officers were still trying to bring the sixth suspect, a 15-year-old girl, into custody.
Police addressing people at the protest on Wednesday (Thabo Jaiyesimi/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock)He added: "We want to bring these offenders to justice. We're trying to get those vital bits of evidence that we need to see charges, and I can say I believe we're not far away.
"So we're confident as a police force and as a local police team that we will bring justice for the victims.
"There's still one outstanding that we do need to arrest. That's a 15-year-old girl.
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"She knows she's wanted, family members will obviously know she is wanted so my plea to her and family members is to hand yourself in at the nearest police station.
"That's not stopping us from making active inquiries to locate her. We have a number of officers... making those attempts to bring her into custody."
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