The anxious mum of a traumatised teenager knocked unconscious in a sickening attack in broad daylight, claims she could have been killed.
Liz Flannigan’s daughter, S6 pupil Holly, 17, was attacked by a group of up to a dozen youths and had her nose broken after they brutally stamped on her head, face and body.
The 40-year-old doesn’t believe bullying and gang attacks will stop unless the authorities are given the powers to deal more robustly with offenders under the age of 18.
Holly, from Coltness, had been going to visit a friend when she was approached by the group of yobs.
Liz said: “It’s absolutely disgusting. She was with her pal and they went up to Newmains to collect her other pal. Holly doesn’t normally go out the door nmuch, but as school had finished up for the holidays that day she said she was going out with her pals and I said that was fine.
“Holly doesn’t know any of them. She’s really shy and wouldn’t say boo to a ghost, and even if she had she doesn’t deserve that.
“One girl came behind her asking what Holly had said about her boyfriend, and that was it, several of them were stamping on her head. And it was boys as well.
“The other girl who was with Holly just froze. Fortunately a car stopped and the woman driver stopped them. Holly had passed out and can’t really remember anything herself. The woman who brought her home said she blacked out with them kicking her on the head.
“The bit that gets me is that there were loads of cars passing and adults who seen this but only one of them stopped to help.
“The ones that attacked Holly got on a bus and were boasting about what they’d done.
“Someone really needs to take a stand against this sort of thing.”
The attack happened just before 6pm on Friday, March 31, at a bus stop on Manse Road in Newmains.
Holly, who has been left so traumatised by the incident that she doesn’t want to be pictured, said: “I said something to my friends that wasn’t intended for them [the youths]. Then two girls came up and said, ‘What you saying about my pal and my boyfriend?’.
“One of my friends pulled me away to go to another bus stop. Then they just came up behind me.”
Holly was taken to hospital by her mum following the attack and had a full-body CT scan.
Liz, a mum-of-four, admits she has been underwhelmed by the police response to the attack on her daughter.
“I think they should be charged with attempted murder," she said. "But the police say that won’t happen because of their ages, as they are about 12 to 15 years old. It’s an unprovoked attack and stamping on someone’s head repeatedly can cause serious harm or death.
“At the end of the day it could have been a different kind of chap at my door. Something needs to be done, as it’s horrendous.”
Police Inspector Alan Mulholland said: “We are currently conducting a number of enquiries in relation to the incident and would take this opportunity to appeal to members of the public who witnessed it, or who may have CCTV or dashcam footage, to contact police in Wishaw on 101.”
Anyone with information can call 101 and ask for PC Deans or PC Baker, quoting incident number 1554 of April 1, 2023. Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
* Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
And did you know Lanarkshire Live is on Facebook? Head on over and give us a like and share!
