Aidan Cowie, 15, was allegedly assaulted by two men after he and a friend played knock-and-run at a house and police say two men are due to be interviewed about the incident last month
A teenager was allegedly battered with a plank of wood and left requiring A&E treatment following a prank-gone-wrong.
Staffordshire schoolboy Aidan Cowie, aged 15, was said to have been violently assaulted by two men in Penkridge on the evening of Thursday, March 26 after he and a mate knocked on a house door before fleeing as a prank.
Shortly after the prank, a car drew up beside the friends on a nearby road and a man emerged brandishing either a baseball bat or a wooden plank, said Aidan’s father, Kyle. He added that the man gave chase to the boys.
Kyle explained: “Aidan went one way, his mate went the other way. The lad followed Aidan.”
“He looked behind him, then saw the bloke was getting closer, so he tried to sprint more, but then got smashed over the back of the head with this piece of wood.”
“He fell to the floor, tried to get back up, but the lad grabbed him, threw him back to the floor, jumped on top of him and started hitting him, sitting on top of him.”
Kyle said that the man was believed to have been in his 20s.
He said that the man then lifted Aidan up and hauled him towards the house where the boys had played knock-and-run.
“As he was dragging him then, the other bloke, who was in his 50s, came over. He went to punch Aidan and missed and fell to the floor himself.”
“He then got back up and then picked up the piece of wood and started hitting Aidan with the piece of wood on his leg, saying, you’re never going to walk again.”
Kyle recounted that his son started yelling for help, drawing the attention of individuals from a nearby house.
A man and woman inquired about what was going on, and the older assailant allegedly claimed the boys had attempted to burgle his house, Kyle explained.
Kyle mentioned that another couple also questioned what was happening, which provided Aidan with a chance to flee.
“Luckily, the bloke had got him by his hood, so Aidan managed to pull away and escape while he was distracted and climbed through a little hole in the fence and sprinted for his life,” Kyle said.
“The neighbours obviously called the police, so they came straight out.”
Kyle said that he first learned about the incident when he returned from football training and noticed a series of missed calls from his eldest son, Cameron, 18. Cameron was assaulted in Penkridge four years ago by a gang wielding baseball bats in an unrelated incident.
“When he answered, he went, ‘You need to get straight to A&E, Aidan’s been beaten up badly’,” Kyle recalled.
Aidan had managed to avoid serious injury. He sustained a bump on the back of his head, rib discomfort and scratches all over his body.
Since the incident, Kyle said he found out other children had previously played knock-and-run at that address, although he said it was Aidan’s first time doing it.
Kyle commended the initial response of Staffordshire Police, stating officers indicated there would be arrests. He expressed that since then, the police force has been slow to provide him updates or a crime reference number.
“The biggest concern is I had no updates for two and a half weeks,” Kyle revealed. “And my son’s obviously asking daily what’s happening. Also, I wasn’t given a crime number. I’ve got no crime reference number still.”
A representative for Staffordshire Police said: “We were called at 8.45pm on Thursday 26 March to Grange Avenue, Penkridge, following reports a teenage boy was assaulted.
“Following some anti-social behaviour on the street, two men pulled up near to the boy and one of the men hit him with a stick. The victim went to hospital for treatment.”
“Officers have carried out enquiries and two men are due to be interviewed about the incident.”