A Muslim woman was spat at and abused by a gang of six teenagers in Telford who pulled off her religious headdress in a racially motivated attack.
The gang, who were all male, surrounded the 52-year-old woman and started aggressively pushing and shoving her as she walked along a footpath by the skate park near William Reynolds Infant School in Woodside on Tuesday. Chris Ammonds, spokesman for Telford police, said the woman was abused between 6pm and 6.20pm.
“After circling the victim the youths then started to racially abuse her. At least one of the youths spat at the victim too. The youths then pulled the victim’s hijab – a traditional Muslim headdress – off her head and taunted her with it but she quickly managed to grab it back off them and flee.
“The victim has been left very shaken by this incident and also suffered a long scratch to her right cheek as a result of the assault.
“The youths that surrounded the victim are all described as being white, aged between 15 and 17 and as wearing tracksuits and hooded tops or caps. Officers are very keen to identify the youths that assaulted this woman.”
Anyone with information should call Telford police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.