Heroine of the Hoppings revealed
TEEN CLAIMS GROUP SET UPON HIM AFTER THE HOPPINGS
A GOOD Samaritan has told how she intervened as a ‘group of lads’ allegedly attacked a teenager on his way home from the Hoppings fair.
Dylan Swan suffered horrific injuries when he was allegedly set upon on after leaving the popular Newcastle attraction on Friday night.
Selfless care assistant Georgina Wood has described how she and two friends chased a group of males away after coming across the violent scene on their way to the fair.
Georgina, 23, said: “We just thought we can’t just let this happen. We were scared but we had to stop it. It could have ended up a lot worse.”
Dylan said he was set upon by around 30 people as he walked through Exhibition Park on Friday night. The 16-year-old said he was stabbed in the head with a butterfly knife during the assault, beaten and stamped on before being left covered in blood.
Georgina and her pals were just arriving at the park when the drama unfolded in front of them.
“We were just walking towards the Hoppings and we seen loads of lads running towards a bench,” said Georgina. “They all started beating him up.
“So we went over and said; ‘Get off him’ and then they all ran off.”
Georgina, who works caring for the elderly, rushed to Dylan’s side and began administering first aid as one of her friends dialled 999.
“I didn’t have anything with me so I tried to get his jacket off to apply pressure on his wound, there wasn’t much else we could do,” she explained. “He was conscious and talking but he was very shaken.”
The friends were soon helped by a nurse and members of the St John’s Ambulance team who were at the Hoppings, and police arrived at the scene soon after.
Dylan was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary but is now recovering at home with parents Rob and Shirley.
Once the teen was in safe hands, Georgina and her pals continued with their visit to the Hoppings, although she admitted the whole experience has put her off the fair.
“This was my first time going to the Hoppings,” she said. “It was full of kids in gangs. It wasn’t what you would expect to experience at a family fun fair.
“At the time I was just thinking: ‘I have got to stop this happening.’ But looking back I was thinking what could have happened to us. You never know.”
Since the incident Georgina, from Blaydon in Gateshead, has traced Dylan via social media. And the teenager sent her a message of thanks.
A Hoppings spokeswoman said: “We’ve been told by police that there was a group of drunk teenagers at the bandstand in Exhibition Park and a fight broke out. We are not aware of any
It was full of kids in gangs. It wasn’t what you would expect to experience at a family fun fair
incidents actually at the Hoppings. We have two private security firms, with 50 people working yesterday and today, as well as Northumbria Police.”
Northumbria Police confirm that one man has been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm, and four youths, two aged 17 and two 16 year olds, have now been arrested in connection with the incident, which happened at around 7.20pm, and police are appealing for witnesses. The youths have been released on bail.
Det Cons, Chris Halliday, of Northumbria Police, said: “We are aware there have been a number of posts on social media in relation to the assault and we would like to reassure the public that we take reports of this nature very seriously. We do believe that all those involved were known to each other and that this was not a random attack. “Police are aware of reports that one of the attackers was in possession of a knife but it is not clear whether it was used in the assault and inquiries into the circumstances are ongoing. “There has also been a number of posts on social media that have identified those involved but we would ask the public to avoid doing this as it could jeopardise any criminal investigation. We have acted quickly to speak to a number of witnesses and have also made a number of arrests, however, we would still encourage anyone with information to get in touch.” Anyone with information is asked to call Northumbria Police on 101 quoting reference 1053 22/06/18.