Devastated dad calls for action after teen son attacked with brick

A teenage boy was punched and hit in the face with a brick in a sickening unprovoked gang attack near a Padiham beauty spot on Saturday night.
Police are investigatingPolice are investigating
Police are investigating

The 16-year-old was taken to hospital following the attack in the grounds of Gawthorpe Hall, but fortunately escaped serious injury.

Now the teenager’s sickened father, Craig Colwell, has called on police to clamp down on the perpetrators.

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Mr Colwell, who only moved to Oxford with his son several months ago, said: “My son is a big lad but he has been really shaken up by this.

“He had gone with his 14-year-old step-brother and his friend to meet with some others when they were approached by a larger group.

“Luckily my son could see there was going to be trouble and told the two younger lads to run away. He was then punched in the face and, sickeningly, hit in the face with a brick. Then, when he was on the floor, they started laying the boot him.

"Unbelievably, someone was falling all this. I am absolutely sickened. We took my son to Burnley General Hospital and he was then taken by ambulance to Royal Blackburn Hospital because the doctors were concerned he may have internal injuries.

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"We eventually left the hospital at 4am on Sunday. My lad has two black eyes and lots of bruising, but luckily nothing more serious. It could have been so much worse."

Mr Colwell, who lives in Burnley and his own home improvement business, said he wants police to act swiftly to prevent any future attacks.

The Burnley Express reported last week that police had stepped up patrols in the Burnley Road area of Padiham, near to Shuttleworth College, following reports that youths had been planning gang fights with weapons.

The news prompted Shuttleworth College headteacher Ruth England to issue a statement reassuring parents.

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Mr Colwell added: "I appreciate police are under-staffed but they need to up their game. My son is badly shaken up but this could have been so much worse.

"I have heard that people in this area of Burnley and Padiham are scared to go out at night because of worries over these gangs."

The Burnley Express has contacted the police for a comment.