The popular security guard at a Somerfield store in Shefford, Bedfordshire was last night attacked by a youth in a drunken rage.
Eyewitnesses said “He was smashing his head against the shelves inside the doors.”
The security guard was reportedly bruised and bleeding but not seriously harmed.
Police rushed to the scene and were seen leaving the store in a hurry, presumably to catch the young male.
The Police Helicopter,a useful and fairly new addition to the local area, was also called out in an attempt to thwarth the youngsters attempts at escape.
It is currently unknown what triggered this appalling act of violence, but a long running feud between the male and the guard is apparant.
The male first pushed The security guard who cannot be named for legal reasons, and then procceded to punch the Ethnic man in the face.
There is no doubt in my mind that this attack was not racially motivated, although this cannot be confirmed until the youth is captured.
Shefford, until recently, was known as a quiet village where everybody keeps themselves to themselves, yet last nights events show a darker side to this generally peaceful community.
These types of occurance’s may strenghten the local Police Community Support Officers ongoing battle with the council to take the youths off of the streets and give them somewhere to go. It would be ignorant of me to suggest that the reasoning behind this act was just “something to do” but it is becoming more common.
A good example of this would be the happyslap phase in 2005. I don’t mean to say that if youths were given a shelter of some description that no trouble would occur, although i do think it would provide a solid, structured basis for the community to work on reducing crimes, commited by the younger generation.
This events that unfolded last night highlight the problem of nuiscance youths, and the fact that something needs to be done about it.