A DISTRAUGHT mum and her son felt ‘intimidated’ and ‘vulnerable’ after a group of ‘disrespectful’ youths assaulted them while walking home from a supermarket.

Police have launched an investigation after a bottle was thrown at them by a group of juveniles while they were walking down Cambridge Street in Barrow on Saturday afternoon.

A group of four boys – aged between 10 and 15 years old – reportedly started shouting abuse at the mum and her nine-year-old son while they were walking back from Co-op.

The mum, who asked to be anonymous, said the group continued to pursue the pair while ‘shouting’ and ‘screaming’ at them down the street.

She said: “They left the back of the Co-op and followed us all the way up Cambridge Street, shouting and screaming at us, making comments about how I looked.

“I stopped as I knew they were close behind us and told them to leave and to go away and said that they were embarrassing themselves.

“As we turned back around to continue our walk to my mums, one of the boys out of the group had a launched with some effort force and strength a full two litre water bottle towards the back of my little boy’s head.

“It crashed with a loud racket, resulting in us both jumping and screeching, at that point I turned around and said if you throw that bottle again I will be calling the police.

“I pointed out how dangerous and reckless that was. If that bottle hit myself or my son, we would have injured our necks and head, it could have caused a concussion it was alarmingly scary and intimidating.”

The mum said the group continued to throw the bottle at the family and followed them down the street.

“I was desperately hoping another adult would come by to help us,” she said.

“All I could think was I need to protect my little boys’ head from these reckless, coward boys. The amount of times I verbally stressed he is nine years old and it didn’t make one bit of difference.

“I couldn’t run and I didn’t have time to get our phones out of my son’s bag to phone the police, to record or even call a relative or friend for help, we had to keep on moving and all I could think of was we need to get to my mum’s house and out of this situation as quickly as possible.

“Verbal abuse is one thing but to physically resort to violence is on a whole other level, it’s incredibly dangerous. It’s utterly not acceptable. Our young children are unsafe on our own streets.

“I have never felt so intimated and vulnerable and to have this overwhelming urge to protect my son knowing that I have physical disabling ailments myself.

“It concerns me it could have been an elderly women or man who had walked past them that day or a child who was alone.

“They were bullies and I feel saddened for the school teachers and the mothers who have to deal with these boys. They strike me as having no respect for women and small children.”

Police are appealing for the public’s help to identify the four juveniles identified in the incident.

The first suspect is described as being of slim build; with blonde hair wearing a black tracksuit and small bag across his body. The second suspect is described as being of medium build with brown hair wearing a red t-shirt and was riding a red pedal cycle. The third suspect is described as being of average build, with brown hair and wearing a black hooded top.

Police are also looking for anybody who may have witnessed the incident or has CCTV footage of it.

Anyone with information relating to this incident can report it online at www.cumbria.police.uk/reportit, for the attention of PC 2925 quoting incident 0156 of June 25.

You can also phone on 101. Alternatively you can contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.