Six people have been sentenced following unprovoked violence in Chippenham town centre.
Officers were called to reports of two separate assaults involving a group of teenagers in Borough Parade in the early hours of the morning on 2 September last year.
A woman in her 30s had been attacked by a group of young women who pulled her backwards by her hair before punching, hitting and kicking her as she fell to the ground.
Two young men from the same group of friends then launched an attack on a man who was walking nearby following the initial incident – one of the boys can be seen on CCTV punching the man up to 20 times.
The offenders all pleaded guilty to assault by beating. They are:
Poppy Smith, 18, of Butts Crescent, Trowbridge
Coral Burberry, 18, of Oxford Road, Calne
Jessica May, 18, of The Tinings, Chippenham
Skye Roberts, 19, of Barn Close, Chippenham
Sean Henderson, 18, of Field View, Chippenham
Darryl Lowe, 19, of Oak Road, Chippenham
Five of the defendants appeared at Swindon Magistrates Court last week, while one appeared today (Wednesday).
They were all sentenced to 200 hours of unpaid work and must pay a £114 surcharge and £85 costs.
In a victim impact statement provided to the court, the male victim said: “This assault has had a profound impact on my life. However, I find within myself a sense of forgiveness.
“I recognise that their actions may stem from their own struggles or circumstances. I hope that they reflect on this incident and choose a path of kindness and empathy towards others in the future.”
Sgt Jamie Ball, of the Chippenham Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Following the initial report of these two assaults, we issued a CCTV appeal within the local media to identify these individuals – we are extremely grateful to the members of the public who came forward with information to help us identify and arrest these six people swiftly.
“However, we did also receive a number of comments from some people who claimed these were simply youngsters just having a bit of a scrap. The CCTV footage clearly shows the extent of these assaults and the impact is described very well in the impact statements given to court.
“Violence of any kind is unacceptable on our streets, but violence of this nature is disgraceful and when it involves such young people attacking those twice their age it is really disappointing. I’d like to praise the victims, who despite their ordeal, have supported us in getting this case to court and ensuring the offenders could be sentenced for their actions.
“The Chief Constable has made reducing violence and creating safer public spaces two of her key priorities and the Neighbourhood Policing Team here in Chippenham remain fully committed to ensuring the town is as safe as possible and will be continuing to work with young people to understand the main contributing factors to behaviour of this kind.”
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