Bystanders look on as young asylum seeker is beaten up by gang

A group of up to 20 people looked on as a gang punched and kicked a young asylum seeker so badly he was left with a fractured skull and a blood clot on the brain, neighbours claim.

Eight people have been questioned on suspicion of attempted murder after a “savage attack” on a suburban street left the 17-year-old fighting for his life.

The incident has drawn widespread condemnation, with Tory minister Gavin Barwell describing the attackers as “scum”.

The teenager, a Kurdish Iranian, was waiting at a bus stop with two friends outside The Goat pub in Croydon, southeast London, at 11.40pm on Friday when the group approached them.

After discovering he was an asylum seeker, they launched a vicious assault, repeatedly kicking him on the floor and aiming blows to his head.

Police believe a gang of around eight were involved in the attack but residents said many more looked on while the boy was beaten on the ground.

One resident of Shrublands Avenue, where the attack took place, said: “There were more than eight people, there was a massive group coming up from The Goat pub. You couldn’t see who was hitting who.

“There was one person, the one who ended up in hospital, he was getting absolutely beaten up – kicked, mostly in the facial area. He was getting kicked and punched by everyone.

“There was a group of roughly ten people that was kicking and punching him, and the rest, another ten or 20, were all just around watching.

“Then when they heard sirens they started to go. People that were there, witnesses, because they couldn’t do anything against a group of 30 people, they had to wait until they moved off and that’s when they managed to help him.

“That’s eventually when the ambulance and police (arrived), and that was it.”

The 17-year-old youth remained in hospital in a serious but stable condition last night.

A 23-year-old man was arrested in Croydon yesterday on suspicion of attempted murder, while a 26-year-old man and 17-year-old girl were detained on suspicion of attempted murder and violent disorder.

Five other people are still being questioned by detectives while a sixth, a woman of 20, was released without charge. The group – three men of 20, one of 24 and a 24-year-old woman – are also being held on suspicion of attempted murder and violent disorder.