Attack victim spends birthday in hospital

Jamie Hill was in the play area of the park when he was approached by a group of older boys last Wednesday night (July 25).

They asked him his religion before he was attacked by one of the youths, leaving him with a badly swollen face and a suspected broken nose.

It has been claimed the attacker had come to Glengormley from the Ardoyne area of north Belfast intent on causing trouble.

The attack meant Jamie had to spend the following day - his birthday - in hospital suffering in agony.

His mother Julie told the Times: “This was just a vicious assault.

“My son is a good boy, we even sent him to a school outside the area to try and get away from all this trouble.

“Him and his friends were just playing football in the park, when he was taking a rest just a bit away from them.

“Then a group of boys - probably about a year or so older - came over and asked if there were any Prods about.

“He just shook his head - well its none of their business - but they came back and asked if he was a Prod and before he answered one of them beat him up.”

She went on: “When he came home to me I nearly had a heart attack, his face was covered in blood.

“He has severe swelling and nerve damage to his face and the doctors think his nose may be broken, but they have to wait until the swelling goes down.

“He also wears braces on his teeth and the inside of his lips and gums are all cut.

“Jamie will not be allowed back to the park because of this. It’s terrible that you can’t enjoy a public space because there are people like this about.”

Read the full story in this week’s Times...