VICTIM STORY: ‘I WAS SHAKEN UP’

AVROM Topperman, 39, had been walking to his office in Sedgley Park, Manchester when he spotted three teenage boys approaching him.

Mr Topperman, who says he is “visibly Jewish”, sensed danger and began walking quickly towards the office block on December 18 last year.

But as he was about to enter he found himself being pelted with eggs. Mr Topperman realised immediately why he had been singled out.

“I was shaken up by what happened,” said Mr Topperman. “Fortunately the attack happened close to the police training college, and I ran there and reported the incident.

“The police were very good. They told me a couple of weeks later they had found the three lads.”

The youths, aged 13, 15, and 16, were caught, partly with the help of CCTV footage from cameras CST part-funded at a Jewish building near to where the assault took place.

Greater Manchester Police used restorative justice in this case, with the offenders coming face-to-face with their victim to recognise the consequence of their actions.

“I found it a very satisfactory outcome”, says Mr Topperman. “Instead of dragging my case through the courts, even though my evidence was very strong, I managed to get these lads to show regret for what they had done.”