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Teenage girl (15) terrified after assault with wooden bat

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Chris Kilpatrick

The mother of a teenage girl has told how her child is too afraid to leave home after being struck in the face with a wooden bat at a sectarian flashpoint.

Shannon Thompson (15) was knocked unconscious as she walked with friends on the Ballymacarrett Road in east Belfast.

She said a group of boys suddenly appeared on the road before one struck her in the face.

Witnesses said some of the gang then ran into the nationalist enclave of Short Strand.

Shannon's mother Roseanne said she was horrified when she saw her daughter.

"I was at the shop when I got the call. I ran down and all I could see was police and a big crowd of people. When I saw her face I was so angry and then when I calmed down I just started to cry.

"She's only 15. I can't get the picture out of my head of her lying on the ground.

"I haven't been able to stop shaking since."

Shannon said she and some friends were walking along the road when she was attacked.

An ambulance was called and Shannon was taken to hospital for treatment for her facial injuries. She sustained no fractures but was left with cuts and bruises.

The attacker was aged 16 or 17, about 5ft 7in tall, had brown hair and wore a white, red and blue tracksuit. Police have appealed for anyone with information to contact them.

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