Victim’s mum vows to beat bullies

Ashley Lowry (18) spent the night in hospital after he was attacked by two men at around 4am on Saturday morning.

His mother Lyndsey Wilson (36) told the ‘MAIL’: “They broke his jaw, tried to poke his eye out and bit him - he has track marks of teeth on his ear.

“They tried to break his ankle as well. It was barbaric what they did to him.”

In terms of motivation for the attack, Lyndsey said they’d wanted her son to give them names of others they wanted to speak to in relation to incidents within the community.

She said: “These bullies ganged up on a defenceless teenager at 4am after drink had been taken.

“One of them was speaking to me in the afternoon at the fun day. If they wanted to have a talk about this why didn’t they do it then at a sensible hour?”

She added: “He was supposed to be staying with his friend that night but ended up in hospital. I got a call at 7am and was straight over to hospital.

“The messages of support we’ve received for standing up to the bullies have been tremendous. They think people aren’t going to report incidents like this. I’m not going to be intimidated. I will never let it lie until these two are brought to justice.”

Meanwhile, following the assault, graffiti has been sprayed on a gable wall in the estate making allegations about the victim.

Detectives confirmed they are appealing for information after a report of an assault in Mourneview Avenue in the early hours of Saturday, July 12. At around 4am, it was reported than an 18-year-old man was assaulted by two men in the area.

Anyone with any information about this incident is asked to contact Lurgan Police Station on the non-emergency number 101. Or if someone would prefer to provide information without giving their details they can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers and speak to them anonymously on 0800 555 111.