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By ROISIN GADELRAB
 

The woman is scared that if she identifies herself she will suffer reprisals by the boys
Mum's Heath fears after attack by gang

Victim believes stone-throwing children ‘did it for fun’

A NEW mum is terrified of walking alone on Hampstead Heath after she and her eight-week-old baby were attacked by a gang of youths for “fun”.
A teenager punched the mother on the back of the head before swearing and throwing stones at her and her daughter on Tuesday afternoon.
The 36-year-old woman and her partner, who are frightened to be named for fear of reprisals, recently moved from Canary Wharf to South End Green in Hampstead because they wanted to bring their first child up in a safe environment. But the attack on a busy Heath on a sunny day has left the mother – a journalist – shaken.
Describing her five attackers as “surprisingly young”, aged about 10 to 14, she said: “I saw a smirk on their faces. I felt a little anxious so I tried to walk past them.”
After they passed her, the tallest of the gang punched her hard on the head. She said: “I can still feel it. I was shocked. It took me some time to process what happened. They looked so young. They were doing it for fun.”
When she confronted the boys, they ran a short distance before the ringleader picked up some stones. She said: “He threw one stone first, then picked up a handful. He threw them hard.”
Two other mothers who heard her shouts ran off to protect their own children. A Heath ranger, who came to the woman’s aid, called police. The victim added: “Police said the boys were likely to do it again.”
The victim said the attack has changed her perception of how safe her new home is. She added: “I see other mums on their own with prams, thinking the Heath is safe during the day, but I would hesitate to go back on my own with the baby. I would probably wait until the weekend to go with my partner but, then, what’s the merit of moving here?”
A spokeswoman for Heath guardian the City of London said: “The Heath Constabulary responded immediately to reports of an attack and officers have taken a statement from the victim. This is the first time an incident of this nature has been reported on the Heath.”
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