A mum said she's terrified after she was sent horrifying footage of her daughter allegedly being attacked by a gang of teenagers.
Samantha W, 35, said she is shocked and terrified after her 12-year-old daughter Maisie was 'attacked' by a group of teenage girls near the Concourse Shopping Centre in Skelmersdale just before midday on Sunday, May 8. She said the group of girls, who Samantha believes to be aged between 14 and 17, gathered around her daughter before launching into a sickening assault.
Three girls allegedly attacked Maisie while others filmed the sickening assault. Samantha said: "They kicked her, dragged her to the ground, beat her on the head, jumped on her, kept kicking her in the head."
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Samantha was sent the short clip of the assault by a concerned parent after the video was shared around social media. The mum said: "I can't watch the film of it.
"The attack only ended when a lady intervened and chased the girls away and I'm so grateful to her for that. I got to Skem as fast as I could and got Maisie back home to me in Preston." Samantha said the attack is "sickening" and now fears for her daughter's safety, blaming a rise in bullying among teens.
She added: "This attack was sickening - they are just bullies, nothing but bullies. I got a message off one of the children that did it apologising for what happened saying 'I feel so bad.'"
Samantha claimed this is the second time Maisie has been attacked, with a similar attack taking place on a bus in Preston last October. She told LancsLive : “Everybody was allowed back out again after the pandemic - and there’s been a rise in bullying. I fear for my daughter - I fear for her every time she walks out the front door, every time she’s away now. This was an horrific experience, and no one should have to go through it.
“There needs to be more done to help these kids - more social things for them instead of them being left to hang around the streets all the time. Things for them to look forward to, as there’s nothing to make their lives better, like activities and clubs.”
Maisie, who is about to be diagnosed with ADHD, has been on the waiting list for an appointment with a CAMHS counsellor for about a year. Samantha added: “The Government needs to know that people need help with their mental health, and better support.
"My daughter’s been on the waiting list for CAMHS for over a year, and there needs to be more help towards mental health issues, more support for children with problems. This generation has been let down badly, they didn’t have routine or a structure and they have had everything taken away from them.”
Lancashire Police confirmed the incident last weekend had taken place and said its officers were investigating. The Department of Health and Social Care were contacted for comment.
