Teenagers from Brighton and Crawley sentenced after violent attack which left council worker with serious injuries

The Brighton and Hove City Council worker, who is in his fifties, was approached by three girls in Palace Place just before 6am on Thursday, September 16, police said.

CCTV footage showed that the victim was pursued into Castle Square as one of the girls threw punches, causing him to fall to the ground. The girls continued to assault him with kicks to the body and head, before members of the public stepped in to help.

All three suspects were arrested by police officers shortly afterwards, a spokesperson said. The arrests were made based on descriptions provided by witnesses.

Two of them - 15 and 16 year old girls from Brighton and Crawley respectively - have since been charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent. The 16-year-old was also charged with assaulting a police officer.

Due to their age, neither can be identified.

Appearing at Brighton Magistrates Court on Wednesday (January 5), the 15-year-old was sentenced to a year in prison, to run concurrently with a four month sentence she is currently serving for a separate assault, police said.

The 16-year-old, meanwhile, was given a 12-month youth offending order and remanded into the care of social services.

Detective constable Victoria Thornton-Green said: “This was a violent, unprovoked attack that left the victim with serious injuries.

As a force we remain committed to tackling youth violence in Sussex, through convictions such as these and by working with our partners in the community to tackle the root causes of this behaviour.

“We would also like to thank the victim, his family and the witnesses who supported our investigation and helped bring these perpetrators to justice.”