Video shows moment 'pack of dogs gang' set on 14-year-old boy 'because of his skin colour'

A group of "mainly Asian men" who attacked a 14-year-old boy "for no reason other than his skin colour" were captured on CCTV during the Middlesbrough riots. The boy was out on his bike with his older brother, on Linthorpe Road, when the planned march turned violent on August 4. His mum has described the men as "acting like a pack of dogs".

They punched and kicked the boy, who had tried to get out of Linthorpe Road, but was trapped by streets full of rioters and police. One of the group, Alfie Holdsworth, also known as Alfie Holdsworth-Hussain, was identified from the footage and arrested on August 13. The 20-year-old initially denied being at the protest.



The riot turned violent that afternoon, after an item was thrown by someone from the counter group, into the parade of protestors who were walking down Linthorpe Road. Some of the marchers were carrying England flags and the police reported hearing chants of "take our country back." Holdsworth, of Axwell Terrace in Gateshead, later said he had been to the mosque on Waterloo Road, which had been damaged in the violence.

He said he was "disgusted" by the riots, but that he wanted to protect the elders in the mosque. On Monday morning, Holdsworth was jailed for 14-months , for kicking the teenage boy twice, as he lay on the ground, having been punched by others in the group. The victim's mother said that the, "adult men had acted like a pack of dogs.

Attacking a boy for what reason? I'm truly sickened by what happened." Judge Jonathan Carroll said that there is "no suggestion that the boy was there as a marcher or participant in the trouble". The judge continued: "He was picked out for no other reason that his colour.

"This was a substantial group attack on him - he was punched and kicked and driven to the ground. You delivered two blows to his body when he was on the ground." Teesside Live is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community.

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