Teenager grabbed by her hair, pushed to the ground and punched in the face as trouble erupted in Harborough town centre on Saturday night

The attack happened as scores of drinkers massed on the High Street as pubs re-opened after the 100-day Covid-19 lockdown
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A shocked teenager was grabbed by her hair, pushed to the ground and punched in the face as trouble erupted in Market Harborough town centre on Saturday night.

The stunned 18-year-old was left with a split lip and bleeding from cuts under her eyes after she was brutally attacked outside the Sugar Loaf pub on the High Street.

The distraught young woman was given emergency first aid in the packed pub as the “thug” who assaulted her ran off as police fought to break up the disturbance at about 10.30pm.

Police had to deal with trouble in Market Harborough on Saturday night.Police had to deal with trouble in Market Harborough on Saturday night.
Police had to deal with trouble in Market Harborough on Saturday night.

The attack happened as scores of drinkers massed on the High Street as pubs re-opened after the 100-day Covid-19 lockdown.

The NHS frontline mum of the devastated teenage victim has now spoken to the Harborough Mail of her terrifying ordeal.

The furious woman, a nurse at Leicester Royal Infirmary, said her daughter had been left “very distressed and upset” after she was violently targeted out of the blue.

“She’s very shaken up.

Police had to deal with trouble in Market Harborough on Saturday night.Police had to deal with trouble in Market Harborough on Saturday night.
Police had to deal with trouble in Market Harborough on Saturday night.

“It’s beyond belief that this could happen here in our home town of Market Harborough,” said the 50-year-old mum, who asked not to be named.

“One minute my daughter was minding her own business as she queued with her friends to get in to the Sugar Loaf.

“The next she was being dragged to the ground by her hair and punched in the face by a thug.

“It’s not really sunk in yet to be honest.

“We are all still trying to come to terms with this.

“How could such a terrible thing happen right here in Market Harborough to a girl of 18?”

She said her normally “bubbly” daughter, who lives with her in Market Harborough, had ventured into town on Saturday night with five friends.

“There were three girls and three boys.

“They were all looking forward to catching up over a drink after the long lockdown,” said the mother-of-two.

“The group all went to their favourite local, the Nags Head on Church Street.

“They were all having a good time but for what ever reason the Nags Head shut early at about 10pm.

“So they all walked across to the Sugar Loaf on the High Street.

“It was very busy, there were people all over the place and they started queueing to go in.

“But all of a sudden these lads tried to jump the queue to get in – they didn’t want to wait.

“There was uproar and quite a few people queueing told them to get back in the line.

“My daughter might be only 18 but she can stick up for herself and may have had a word too.

“But this time it backfired.

“This young man suddenly grabbed her by her hair, she’s got lovely long hair, and forced her to the ground.

“He started punching her hard in the face as she lay on the path.

“He’d probably had a bit to drink that late into the night.

“The lads who were with my daughter got him off and he ran off into the crowd as a big kerfuffle broke out.

“I’m absolutely sure it would have been much worse if my daughter’s mates hadn’t intervened straight away.

“She would have been even more seriously hurt.”

The long-serving nurse said her shell-shocked, bleeding daughter was quickly helped into the Sugar Loaf as mayhem flared outside.

“My daughter was bleeding from her face and her mouth and she had a split lip after being hit.

“Staff in the Sugar Loaf reacted brilliantly and gave her first aid while her friends tried to comfort her,” said the Market Harborough born-and-bred woman.

“She phoned me to tell me she’d been attacked and burst out crying.

“I just couldn’t believe it, I was stunned.

“Three of her friends brought her home.

“But I think the police should have looked after her better and she should have gone to hospital to be checked out.

“She could have suffered concussion, for example, for all they knew.”

The NHS medic has accused officers of arresting the “wrong man” after a man aged 21 was held by police.

“The police arrested one of the lads who was only trying to protect my daughter.

“He’s a really good friend of hers and she’s totally mortified that he’s in so much trouble,” said the LRI nurse.

“We’ve heard that he might even have lost his job.

“It makes me so cross because the local lads behaved impeccably in the town centre on Saturday night.

“Everyone knows everyone in Market Harborough.

“My daughter didn’t recognise the lout who beat her up.

“We are sure he came in to the town from outside.

“But it’s heartbreaking to think that this could happen in our very own town centre.

“I want to make the point that many of our youngsters have had it extremely tough over the last few months.

“It’s been tough for them, it’s very sad.

“But let’s just hope that we do not see a repeat of this awful trouble outside pubs in Market Harborough.

“And I want the thug who so viciously attacked my daughter to be caught by the police and properly punished.

“He should face justice for picking on an innocent young girl for no reason as she waited peacefully to go into one of our pubs for a drink.”

Leicestershire Police have been approached for a comment.