I'll never go back, vows Colin after teen gang's stab attack

A SHOP worker has fled his home after he was beaten and stabbed by a gang of school pupils in an organised attack.

• Colin Trickett has left Oxgangs to live with his sister Hannah in Dunfermline.

Colin Trickett, who lived in Oxgangs, said he was kicked, punched, stamped on and knifed by eight teens - thought to be six boys and two girls - who are believed to be no older than 14 or 15.

The 21-year-old was followed and attacked as he walked home with a friend and his girlfriend at 10.30pm.

His friend was punched in the face and kicked before one member of the gang said "That's not the right one, we're after the other one".

The violence began after he asked the group to leave him alone as they walked down Oxgangs Broadway. He was stabbed several times in the arm outside his home on Oxgangs Avenue.

The shop worker, who was employed by Morrisons in Oxgangs, spent the night being treated in the ERI after the attack last Wednesday. He has now moved in with his sister, Hannah, in Dunfermline.

He said he was finding it difficult to get over the vicious incident and feared he had been deliberately targeted.

He said: "I have no idea why they did it. I had just visited the chip shop when they started up. I was so shocked that I've actually blocked it from my memory, I've seen CCTV from police with five of them on but I couldn't recognise them. I went back to work on the Friday after and I felt so uneasy and scared.

"Now I've moved in with my sister and I'll never be going back to Oxgangs. They stabbed me three times in the arm and I've got bruises all over and a bad ankle. I'm still really in pain but I'm trying to take it easy and get over it."

His sister, Hannah Trickett, 24, said she had never seen her brother in such a state. She said: "He is very frightened and I've never seen him like this, he keeps breaking down. He doesn't want to go out and hasn't been back to his flat since it happened. They kicked him up and down the street, punched him, threw him into hedges and stamped on him.

"Everybody says what a nice lad my brother is. He is a genuine, quiet lad with no malice in him. He muttered under his breath for the gang to leave him alone and they stabbed him ."

She added that anti-social incidents were common in the area. She said: "This has happened far too many times in Oxgangs, people are not wanting to even discuss it anymore. I can't understand why 14 and 15-year-olds would be carrying knives.

"We're not sure why they did this, but we think it could be because Colin looks different. He has tattoos and does not fit into the normal trackies and trainers generation, but this does not give anyone the right to do what they did that night."

Colin's father, Alan Trickett, 45, who grew up in Oxgangs, said: "Nowadays it all seems so much worse. With the prevalence of knives and weapons being carried and the thugs are getting younger. They seem to have a 'you can't touch us' attitude."

Local councillor Jason Rust said the latest crime was a cause for "great concern". He said: "It is worrying that young people have acted like this and it can't be tolerated. I'd heard that it had been a bit quieter recently, but it seems to come and go in phases. I hope this incident is a one-off."

A Lothian and Borders Police spokeswoman said: "We are appealing for anybody with information to come forward to help with our enquiries."