Arrest of teenage boy and assault on girl sparks concern

The arrest of a teenage boy in connection with an assault on a girl has sparked concerns over anti-social behaviour in Diss.

The incident, which occurred on Fair Green last Saturday, also saw a passer-by intervene in a fight involving a group of boys.

A spokeswoman for Norfolk Police confirmed they were called just after 8.30pm to reports of a disturbance.

Following the attack, the girl was taken to hospital, with the teenage boy arrested by police officers.

He has since been released pending further investigations.

An eyewitness, who does not want to be named, has expressed concerns over anti-social behaviour among young people in Diss.

He said: “I believe that it is becoming worse. A couple of months ago, I had to intervene in a fight at the Mere, where it was another group of lads versus one and there was talk of someone having a knife.

“This situation is not going to resolve itself and it will only become worse. Soon, they’ll start to use weapons and it’ll only be a matter of time before someone gets maimed or killed.”

Mum-of-three Lucy Cannon said she witnessed two incidents of anti-social behaviour last week involving adults and said it irritated her that teenagers always get the blame.

“I feel it’s unfair that teenagers get blamed for everything that’s going on,” she said. “I think they are being misjudged.

“Don’t get me wrong, they are children and they will do things they shouldn’t sometimes, but I find the majority of them to be good kids.”

Helen Dutton, owner of Our Slice of Country Life, and mum to a teenage son, said: “You only ever hear of negative things being reported, no-one reports the positives. I think we have a really good group of teenagers.

“You get yobbish behaviour from all ages, it’s down to the mentality of the person, not the age group.”

The incident sparked discussions of whether there were enough things to do for youngsters in Diss and if such behaviour could be prevented by offering more activities.

The eyewitness does not believe it would: “If young people are going to smoke, drink, do drugs or fight, they will. No amount of extra provision will stop those things.”

READ MORE: Change to weekly drop-in sessions at Diss police station

Norfolk Police are appealing for any witnesses to the incident to contact them on 101.

• Read what Inspector Laura Symonds had to say about these concerns in the next edition of the Diss Express, out on September 20.