A woman has described the moment she was sexually assaulted by a gang of three masked yobs on a moped as police investigate a series of disturbing incidents around Bristol that are believed to be linked in the past week. The woman told Bristol Live she was jogging at the entrance to Netham Park when she was slapped and grabbed by three young men wearing balaclavas all on the same moped, one morning last week.
The attack bears a striking similarity to a spate of attacks on cyclists by two or three masked young men on a moped that were reported across a wide area of the city from Bedminster and Totterdown to St Philips, Lawrence Hill and around Temple Meads, where the yobs tried – and sometimes succeeded – in pushing cyclists off their bikes as they rode alongside them.
One man suffered a broken collarbone after being knocked off his bike in an attack, while another suffered cuts and bruising. After inquiries from Bristol Live, police tonight (Monday, December 9) issued a public appeal to help catch the culprits, and moved to reassure people who are jogging and cycling in the areas concerned.
Avon and Somerset police said they believe a total of six attacks are linked, in an area stretching from Barton Hill and St Phillips through Temple Meads to Totterdown and Bedminster, over the course of a few days last week. All but one involved two or three yobs on a moped trying to push cyclists off their bikes. The one that wasn’t, was an assault on a woman out jogging, that was a sexual assault.
The woman who was attacked at Netham Park wasn’t cycling, but was out running, and was at the Marsh Lane entrance at around 10am last Wednesday morning (December 4). She told Bristol Live: “I was running and maybe around ten metres into the park when three men or teenagers on one moped came up behind me and slapped me.
“One grabbed me and then my wrist, I’m not sure if he was aiming for my wrist. The boy at the back, who was definitely white but wearing a balaclava, then turned and laughed at me,” she added.
The woman, who does not wish to be named, called the police and then walked to the nearby Forest Bakery, where staff were ‘really amazing at helping me’, she said. Police said they believe the attack on the woman was the only sexual assault of six over a period of three days on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday last week, and there have been no more reported since then.
The attack happened in the middle of a spate of similar incidents last week, some of which saw the police helicopter deployed to try to find the culprits. Avon and Somerset Police said they were linking the series of attacks, which were primarily on cyclists in an area around Barton Hill, Totterdown and Temple Meads.
The night before the attack on the woman at Netham Park, at around 7.15pm, a man in his 20s suffered grazes and bruising after he was pushed off his bike on Cattle Market Road, and on Thursday morning, at around 7.30am, a man in his 50s suffered cuts and bruising after he was pushed off his bike, and later that same morning – just before 9am – a man in his 60s suffered a broken collar bone when the yobs on a moped tried to push the man and a woman he was riding alongside off their bikes on Feeder Road.
But officers investigating fear other attacks, or attempted attacks, have not been reported, so are urging anyone who has seen or been the victim of the moped group to come forward.
“Between Tuesday 3 and Thursday 5 December, we saw six incidents in which multiple riders on a moped or motorbike have pushed people from their bikes. The incidents have taken place in and around south and east Bristol, with the majority of them occurring on Feeder Road,” a spokesperson for Avon and Somerset police said. “On one occasion, on Thursday 5 December, a man was pushed from his bike in Feeder Road, resulting in him sustaining a broken collar bone.
“There was one additional incident, on Wednesday 4 December, when a woman was sexually assaulted in Netham Park by three unknown males riding on a moped in similar circumstances. This is the only reported sexual assault,” she added.
Bristol East Neighbourhood Policing Inspector Thomas Tooth said they are linking all the attacks and believe the same culprits are responsible. “All of these incidents are being treated as linked and enquiries are being carried out to identify those responsible to bring them to justice, and prevent further attacks on members on the public,” he said.
“Officers from our Neighbourhood Policing Team and local patrol teams are focussing their patrols in Feeder Road and surrounding areas to provide reassurance to the public and work is ongoing to gather intelligence and information to help identify the offenders. Officers will continue to work alongside colleagues from the local authority as part of the investigation to gather and review CCTV. We will also be ensuring that the appropriate support is in place for all victims,” Insp Tooth added.
“There have been no further reported incidents since Thursday 5 December, but we remain vigilant. We urge anyone who has been involved in a similar incident to contact police immediately, to ensure we have a full picture of offending and can maximise all investigative opportunities.”
- If you’ve witnessed an incident, or have dashcam, doorbell or CCTV footage which could help, please call 101 and quote the new reference number 5224321329. Call 999 if the incident has just happened and the suspects are possibly still in the area.