Police arrest teenage gang after spate of attacks on Asians in Cradley Heath

Local newspaper, the Halesowen News, reports on the arrest of a teenage gang on suspicion of racially aggravated assault and criminal damage after a spate of racial hate crimes in the area.

The paper reports on incidents in recent months including a number of Asian pensioners who were beaten up, an eight year old boy who was slapped outside a mosque and a driver who was left terrified after the gang surrounded his car and began smashing it up.

Chief Inspector Jane Parry said: “This type of behaviour is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our area.

“Officers have been working closely with the local mosque and continue to offer reassurance to local residents.”

“Two sixteen-year-olds, a 15, 17 and 18-year-old have been bailed by police until December with a strict daily curfew from 6.30pm until 7am and they have been barred from visiting Plant Street and Bearmore Park playing fields,” the paper notes.

The Cradley Heath and Old Hill neighbourhood policing team will hold a public meeting at Plant Street mosque on November 29 at 1.15pm to discuss personal safety and tackling hate crime.

This is not the first time Cradley Heath has hit the headlines. In July, a mosque was attacked for a second time. That was after the previous mosque in Cradley Heath was burnt to the ground.