Racist thugs stage brutal assault on Alisha, 12

A GANG of girls as young as 12 are being hunted after launching a terrifying racist attack on a fellow schoolgirl.

Alisha Khan, 12, was left with double vision after the daylight assault, and was so disorientated that she staggered on to a busy road.

Passers-by had to rescue the girl, who suffered a sprained arm and cuts to her head, from being struck by vehicles in Piershill Place.

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Alisha’s family today told how she had received a racist message on Facebook in the days before Sunday evening’s attack, and said her brother had also previously been targeted by racist thugs.

She was set upon by a group of girls, believed to range from 12 to 16 years old, who subjected her to racial abuse then pounced on her, beating her to the ground and kicking her in the head.

The first-year pupil said she was unable to remember how many girls assaulted her because she was covering her head to avoid the blows, but eyewitnesses said they numbered as many as ten.

The attack, which happened at 5.30pm on Sunday in Piershill Square East, came amid reports of mounting antisocial behaviour in the area as gangs of youths roam the streets.

Residents described how yobs, many coming in from Northfield, Portobello, Lochend, Pilton and Craigentinny, were descending on Piershill to fight, take drugs and terrorise the area.

Alisha, whose arm was put in a sling at the Sick Kid’s hospital, told the Evening News how she had received a message on Facebook from a girl calling her a “P*** b******”.

“I think there might have been five or six of them but I couldn’t see when I was on the ground. I had my hands over my head as they kicked me. One of them also banged my head against a wall.

“Some guy came along and pulled me up. When I stood up I had double vision. I started running and didn’t know where I was going so I ran on to the road. Other people grabbed me and threw me on to the pavement to miss the cars.”

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Doctors feared that Alisha had fractures to her cheekbone, but X-rays showed she had suffered only swelling to her face.

Her mother, Jasmin Khan, 38, said: “I felt sick when I saw her because she couldn’t move her arm. She also had cuts on her head from where they had pulled her hair so hard.

“When she got back she was having trouble breathing.”

The mother-of-three added: “I knew about the racist comment on Facebook but I didn’t think it would go this far. It’s shocking to think my daughter could be subjected to this kind of racist behaviour. My son was hit in the stomach with a hammer when we lived in Pilton in a racist attack and it’s horrible to see this happen again.”

Clare Kirkland, 67, witnessed the attack while out walking her dog. She said: “It was absolutely disgusting. There must have been ten girls, each taking turns kicking the girl in the head. She had tried to run away but they ran after her and caught her by the hair and knocked her to the ground. The girls were all screaming and shouting as they did it.

“This area is getting worse and worse at the moment. All these kids are running wild and taking drugs and getting drunk.

“There was a young black boy attacked because of race a few months ago here too.”

Councillor Gary Peacock, whose ward includes the area, said: “I’m appalled by this incident. This sort of racist act has no place in Edinburgh.”

A police spokesman said an investigation was under way.

He said: “Officers are following a positive line of inquiry. In the meantime, anyone who may have witnessed the assault should come forward.”

EYEWITNESS

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Early evening on the streets of Piershill and they are out in force, hunting in packs intent on causing chaos wherever they roam.

It’s 7.30pm and a gang of teenagers, aged around 14 or 15, are marauding along Piershill Place.

Some take up position in the middle of the road forcing vehicles to brake.

Six of them spend time trying to smash the windows of the phone booth at the top of Piershill Square West.

It’s a stubborn prey, and after finally giving up they begin kicking the back of the nearby bus stop. Here, a woman in her 70s is sitting alone on the bench.

The shocked pensioner jumps up from her seat and two of the youths pretend to run at her.

The woman, clearly scared, sits back down in silence, no doubt willing the bus to arrive as soon as possible. Thankfully for her, the pack quickly moves on — they have spotted a takeaway owner they can hurl abuse abuse at.

‘There’s going to be a murder the way things are heading’

RESIDENTS in Piershill say youth violence and disorder had been on the increase even before this weekend’s attack.

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One resident told the Evening News: “It’s not uncommon to see 30 or 40 youths running about causing trouble.

“This was a great area for quite a while. They upgraded the parks and it was a nicer place to live. But in the last year or so there’s trouble pretty much every night. All these kids from Northfield, Portobello, Lochend are coming here. People are afraid to walk the streets.”

In November, the News reported a hate campaign against an Asian chip shop owner. Neel Sharma, 25, the owner of the Daba takeaway, has endured racist abuse, vandalism and threats of violence ever since opening the takeaway last August.

Another resident said: “These kids are coming in from all over the place. It’s fighting and bother every night. There’s going to be another murder the way things are heading.”

• What has been your experience? Is youth disorder getting worse? Contact the Evening News on 0131-620 8733 or email [email protected].