Great bowls of ire!
Player aged 69 hurt as gang of teenage yobs wielding stones invades green
IT’s a much- cherished sport – known for its gentle pace and polite conduct.
But the calm of a seaside afternoon bowls game was shattered when teenage yobs launched a terrifying attack on pensioners on the green.
They invaded the playing area armed with stones and chairs.
One 69-year- old man needed hospital treatment after the thugs broke his glasses and cut his face. The violence broke out during a 30-minute row as a match ended.
Players and spectators managed to pin down one of the troublemakers and police swooped to make two arrests.
An off-duty policewoman who had been jogging past intervened in the bust-up and quickly received back up from her husband, a detective inspector. Four police cars attended the scene.
Members of Den Bowling Club in Teignmouth, Devon, were given a police presence at their match this weekend to reassure players and spectators after the attack on June 8.
Club member Eric Tose said the violence followed ‘ three or four years of problems’ with youngsters in the area.
He explained: ‘We were just finishing our match against Lyme Regis. There was roughly 1,500 years in total age on the green.
‘One of our members was taking the flag down and the kids decided they wanted to invade the green.
‘A member asked them to leave and they set upon him.
‘They gave him a good whacking, leaving him with abrasions to his face. They broke his glasses and knocked him down. Then two or three of our members managed to pin down the leader.
‘There were seven or eight boys involved along with accompanying girls. It was frightening. The average age of players on the green was about 70.’
Mr Tose added: ‘They were just being generally abusive. The girls with them were egging them. They’re only young – only about 14 – but one of the kids was attacking people. Another one grabbed a brick out of a flower bed and was about to hit somebody’s head in with it, but that’s when the police helped out. It was just very, very nasty. There were about 40 to 50 people watching.’ Mr Tose called it a ‘shameful scene’, adding: ‘They attacked a member who had asked them to get off the green, beating him about the head. He was badly shaken up.’ He said a female police officer who had been off-duty and happened to be running past intervened and her husband, a detector inspector helped to control the situation and handcuff suspects.
He added: ‘ A large number of bystanders were there, openmouthed, to see this disgusting attack on elderly people. What is this town coming to?’
Another witness said: ‘ One of the players went over to them asking them to leave before they all pounced on him.
‘They came at him with stones and one of them even picked up a metal chair as they raced towards him. He was hit in the face just because we wanted to enjoy our game. Bowls is an old person’s game and we’re all over a certain age. I don’t see why they would do it in the first place.’
Police arrested two 14-year-olds on suspicion of assault and affray before releasing them on bail. A spokesman said: ‘We were called at around 5.15pm following reports of a disturbance at the Teignmouth Bowling Club, The Den.
‘ Two 14- year- old boys were arrested. Both have since been released on police bail until July 5.’ He added: ‘One person sustained a minor facial injury and he was taken to Torbay District Hospital as a precaution.’
‘Disgusting attack on elderly’