Tension running high as youth is injured

An 18-year-old is recovering from hours of micro-surgery in a London hospital to reconstruct his hand after a wound thought to have been caused by a sword.

And police warn they will not tolerate the public taking the law into their own hands in reprisal.

A round-the-clock police presence has been introduced to calm fears.

Traders say the situation would never have arisen had Sidley had a regular police presence and are calling for the reinstatement of a Community Beat Officer for Sidley.

This concept has been dropped but Inspector Max Mosley is pushing for two of the new Police Community Support Officers to be put into such trouble-spots.

The local youth was transferred from the Conquest Hospital to St Thomas' Hospital for specialised surgery after his right hand was virtually split in two by a slash wound which went between his fingers.

He also suffered a slash wound to the thigh. Two men were arrested this week and are now on police bail.

Police say the sequence of events was:

* Londis Store front window smashed and newspapers set alight on front doorstep in the early hours of Saturday.

* 4am Saturday - youths chased from scene - one seriously injured.

* 4pm Sunday - ten stacks of newspapers and magazines at rear of stock set alight, damaging the rear door and storeroom.

Police and fire crews dashed to the scene.

The victim was hurt at the junction of Glovers Lane and North Road after youths were allegedly chased from outside the store, on the nearby junction of Ninfield Road and Glovers Lane.

Detective Inspector Trevor Bowles, head of Rother CID, this week declined to name the injured youth in case it inflamed the already tense situation in Sidley. He also refused to comment on talk in Sidley that the weapon was a sword rather than a knife.

Detective Inspector Bowles said: "We are investigating a serious assault on an 18-year-old local man which has left him in a very serious condition.

"We are in close contact with his family and are making progress with the inquiry."

Feeling is running high in Sidley and the Detective Inspector warned: "I will not tolerate local people apparently making decisions about what they think has happened and taking the law into their own hands.

"People must leave the investigation to us and I appeal to any witnesses who saw the attack on Saturday morning to contact Sussex Police."