Man attacked as he tried to protect kids

THIS is the face of a man attacked by yobs who invaded the communal garden of flats in Biggin Hill.

Residents at the homes in Kingsmead say they have been left terrified by gangs of teenagers regularly laying siege to the flats.

At around 8.30pm last Friday, children who live in the flats were playing outside in an inflatable pool when a group of teenagers entered the garden and started trying to jump in the pool.

Resident Jackie Wawrzewski, 55, saw the incident and said her son Peter, 28, had been trying to calm the situation down when he was struck in the face by a teenager.

She said: "He'd gone out to try and protect all the children, who were screaming.

"One of them leaned towards my son, who thought he had a knife. My son stepped back, then the chap hit my son with something metal. It cut my son's face."

"There were a good 30 of them. They were all on our communal grass with sticks and boulders. We've never seen anything like it.

"It was absolutely awful."

When police and an ambulance arrived, the youths ran off.

After the attack, Mr Wawrzewski was taken to hospital with a cut eye and a broken eyesocket and cheekbone.

Mrs Wawrzewski said trouble from youths coming into the flats' communal area was a weekly occurrence.

She described Kingsmead as a lovely community and said it had been praised for organising children's activities there.

The residents' group for the area has already met to discuss concerns and has asked Broomleigh Housing Association, which manages the flats, to put up a better fence between the recreation ground and the garden – a recommendation from police

Mrs Wawrzewski said: "I'm dreading this weekend. People are just saying, 'We don't feel safe any more.'

"They're running riot. They're coming up to our balconies with bats and it's terrifying for us.

Bromley police spokesman Julian Hurst said: "There was a group of youths drinking in the park. They entered the garden to try to get in the pool.

"When the victim objected he was struck by one of them.

"The suspect is a black male, 14 years old, possibly with a cut to the face sustained in the struggle. Investigations are ongoing."

He added that patrols in the area would be stepped up.

Broomleigh Housing Association head of tenancy services Catherine Charles said: "We are looking at how we can improve the security of the garden and will be working closely with the police to prevent further problems."

If you have any information about the incident, you can contact Bromley police on 01689 891212.