A MOTHER-OF-TWO is demanding urgent police action after she was attacked by a teenage girl while jogging with her daughter.
Jane Kilpatrick was with her 12-year-old daughter, jogging along Queensway, Petts Wood, when she was attacked at 7.15pm.
The teenage girl got off a bus, shouted abuse, took off her shoes and chased the pair pushing Miss Kilpatrick in the chest, outside The Sovereign of the Seas pub.
She grabbed the investment banker's hair, pulling her forward, then kicked and punched her while a teenage boy held her daughter.
A middle-aged man drinking in the pub pulled the girl away and the youths ran off.
The 40-year-old has a black right eye and cuts and had to take two days off work after the assault.
She said: "My nervousness has turned to anger at this unprovoked attack in front of my daughter, just 10 minutes from my home."
News Shopper has reported on problems with previous yob attacks on homes and businesses in Petts Wood.
Miss Kilpatrick is joining other residents in calling for CCTV in Queensway, a police surgery in Petts Wood and a dedicated Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) so police cannot be called away at a moment's notice.
Petts Wood Residents' Association chairman Peter Varley said: "This is a safe neighbourhood compared to other parts of the borough.
"But the problem here is worrying and upsetting.
"You shouldn't have to live in a society where kids come up to you and intimidate you."
Police were called but are no longer investigating the attack on Miss Kilpatrick because of lack of evidence.
Miss Kilpatrick's partner Gerard Shaw, 43, added: "It's scandalous this happened on a high street in the early evening.
"This is typical of the way police treat residents of Petts Wood as social lepers."
Orpington sector officer Inspector Nick Stratford says police support CCTV and are happy to speak to community representatives.
He says an SNT is "exactly the right formula" for the town and one will be set up at the earliest opportunity.
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