Teenager battered and thrown in canal by thugs

Jake Stroud, 18, suffered a shocking unprovoked attack while fishing with a friend on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal in Wigan.

A gang of teenage lads approached him and asked if Jake, who has had problems with his development, knew them. When he replied that he did not, they booted him so hard he ended up in the water.

After one of the group fished him out of the filthy water a couple of the thugs started to kick and punch Jake, who is from Scholes, including landing blows to his head and face.

His furious mum Kelly immediately got police involved and an investigation is under way.

But she says she is concerned officers are not taking the incident, which happened at around 6pm on Monday October 15, seriously enough.

She also spoke of the impact the assault, which left Jake with a broken nose and other minor injuries as well as being severely shaken, has had.

She said: “When Jake said he didn’t know this lad they grabbed hold of him and kicked him and he fell in the water. Three of them just stood back watching and laughing.

“One of them helped him out of the canal and others asked him why he had done that and encouraged him to kick him back in. Jake was left on the side but when he was just about to get up two of them started punching him in the head and kicking him. One of them kicked him straight in the face and broke his nose.

“I’m more angry about the police response. They came to see us on Tuesday morning but on Wednesday we found out who some of these youths were.

“Since then we’ve rang several times and we keep getting told someone will call within 24 hours but I haven’t spoken to anybody.

“Jake’s face is going yellow now.

“He won’t go far from the house, he doesn’t want to go to the shop on his own or anything like that. I think he’s scared of the lads.

“Jake used to like going to the canal on his own. I kept telling him and telling him I wasn’t happy with that in case these things happen.”

The incident happened on a stretch of the waterway in Ince just south of Britannia Bridge. Jake has a love of the water and has volunteered with the Canal and River Trust which maintains it.

GMP said officers were called at 6.50pm on October 15 to reports of an assault where the victim was kicked into the canal at Lock View in Higher Ince.

The reports said a group of six or seven males around 18 or 19 years old were involved.

Anyone with information should call 101, quoting crime reference number 1757/151018