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There was some debate over the ethics of "vigilante" style action following a recent assault, some questioned the rightness of many things.... personally, I think it is both right and proper to air such things in the open, and to remember that it is a free world, and all are entitled to their opinions - even if you disagree with some one, or a group of peopel they have the right to speak their minds as well - EVEN if what they say could be considered as illegal - they are still allowed to say it.

just to fill every one in who missed the original details

http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news/sto ... 3A13%3A703

Having given a statement to the local police, I sat back and waited to find out what happened next.

It was reported to me within 12 hours that the alleged assailant had been "bragging" about having "beaten some old bastard up who was asking for it" - that was outside the Kings Head Pub in Beccles town centre at lunchtime on the following day... that really made me feel hurt - and the idea that this individual thought it made him sound hard is... disgusting.

A few days later the alleged assailant was picked up, and questioned with his solicitor present - he exercised his right to remain silent.

No one came forward to give a witness statement, possibly through fear?

I was informed by the police of all this, and was also asked if i was anything to do with the large amount of get well soon cards etc the alleged assailant had received - i stated that it was nothing to do with me, but I was not surprised as a lot of people had been very upset about the affair. The policeman relayed a message from his inspector to ask me to ensure that such things stopped as it would not help their case - dutifully I have ensured that this did happen.

Following this discussion, and the perceived opinion that the alleged assailant was going to get away with this, i proceeded to get drunk. Approximately 3 hours later a couple of friends took my baseball bat off me and returned me to my wife as it would appear I was intent on going for a walk.... no comment, and no, direct action is not an appropriate response, but it is hard to put into words how i feel.

I feel low in mood and self esteem - i feel "unmanned" if that makes sense - and I have started both some counselling, and have made an appointment to see my GP as I fear I may need a little medicinal help.

The people of the local town have been shocked - having nursed in this region for many years, I reckon most people know me - or have been either nursed by me, or I have nursed a member of their family - people were really not amused. They are also not amused that their quiet town has suddenly got a violence problem - people have been nervous about these teen gangs for some time - but now... they have seen what can happen and it scares them. Whilest in Tescos in the town yesterday, and queuing up to pay a young girl who knew about it came up to ask how I was - I told her that i was still sore, and mentally was hurting. The people around who over heard this, interrupted us and asked if it was I that had been beaten - when i shamefully admitted it, they spoke out with a lot of support and anger that it had happened to their town/area. Those people found a voice to speak as they did - and were quite forthright in their condemnation of the thugs responsible - I suspect that in the future they will speak out if they see anything similar.

BUT - all is not gloomy - this afternoon I was informed by some one in the know, that a witness has come forward - for obvious reasons I will give no further details than that, but, I think that the Police will now have a case, and perhaps justice will be served.

For the future - I have no idea - one thing I do know though - I think it is worthwhile NOT tolerating anti social behaviour, and I think it is almost our duty to ask ourselves if we should just accept it - and if we don't we should empower our communities to do something about it - if you see something patently wrong, do something about it - after all, next time you could be the recipient.

The feeling of being "impotent " is truly frustrating.
Remember you are the victim and this incident was beyond your control.
You are in the right...they are in the wrong, dont get wound up, we all understand the position you are in.
And deffo get the missus to lock away the baseball bat (but if you must carry it around always carry a baseball as well, it seems to placate the coppers a little )

BTW did you get a feeling that our cards/letters had had some effect?

I do so hope that justice will be served.

As for feeling unmanned, I can see how you can feel that way. It's understandable and I can only hope that over time this feeling will pass. You have all our support I am sure, without question.

My friend was, how do I put this.. 'compromised' on the way back from the Pub in the village earlier this year by two assailants who cracked his skull and left him in much the same way as yourself. My friend is a Soldier too, rufty tuffty squaddie done over by two teenagers who took the hump at something that was said. Luckily He's thick as mince so shrugged it off and doesnt dwell on it. The trouble we have with you, is youre not thick as mince and no doubt find it hard to shrug off. Dont under any way consider yourself 'unmanned' just appreciate you've been reminded your Human. We all are (allegedly) and it couldve happened to anyone of us, dont sweat it. (That sounds so basic a reply, I know) Youre clearly still going out. Half the battle is therefore won in overcoming the incident.

As for the Inspector's comment. That is a fair one, nobody wishes to undermine the Police and their investigations. I am sure he appreciates that there was no more bloodshed over the matter, which can only be taken as a good thing. It couldve been 'dealt' with in a lot worse manner. Luckily not everyone seeks to act with mindless violence.

It sounds as though the supermarket airing might have helped to bring forward the witness. More importantly it raise the profile of the feelings towards yoursef and the assailant, clearly others are concerned for you and I resiously doubt they consider you to be unmanned.

An old and perhaps corny quote says that "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger".

As a carer you might feel things more powerfully and personally than others can understand and seeking help in dealing with this is a positive step and demonstrates a strong desire overcome your negative feelings.

Any twat can swing a bat, self control makes you the stronger person.

Speedy recovery.

Thanks for the update Aladin.
Get yerself a punchbag, and leave him to others, after he gets let off with a slap of the wrist.
Keep your nose clean and dont lose the local support/sympathy you have.

A/S - I don't know if there is anything I can say or advice I can offer other than to say we are all rooting for you and your family. Be strong and try and have faith in the system. You are a well known and respected member of Beccles society so we all hope they pull it off for you.

Take care and keep it together mate. Good luck.

I really hope you are starting to come through this Pete and everything that has been said so far on this post is correct, you have to hold your head up and move on from something like this. The episode in Tescos will have helped you and the people in Beccles really understand this better and help them and you stand up the these scum in the future. I really hope that it was this that has caused a witness to come forward. Before you said that, I was thinking shit, here we go again, the scum are going to get away with it.
Whatever you do, getting pissed and taking the baseball bat out for a walk is not the way to go.
You could get seriously hurt or even end up in prison, (you need to be sober to handle a baseball bat properly!).
It is bad when you are a victim of any crime, but it is normally just some faceless person, who has hurt you or robbed you of something you love. When you know who did it and you can see that person in your imagination and even worse see him in the flesh, things are much harder to come to terms with as you have something to focus your anger on.
I am not sure how you handle the latter, if the scrote does not go down for this. If this was me and I met the person in the street sometime later, (especially if he started shooting his mouth off), the mixture of fear, anger and hatred would be something I do not think I could handle, I know what I would want to do!
You have to remember you are so much better than this little tosser and his mates and hope that the get well cards make him a lot more fearful about the fact that he could suffer a similar fate some day, even if the law does not sort it.
If he does not go down and continues to shoot his mouth off, I still find myself thinking that somebody else, other than you, should make sure he sees the error of his ways, preferably whilst you are out of the country on holiday recovering!
I know these thoughts are wrong, but until the legal system in this country starts sorting this scum out, (you see them all the time, strutting around telling everybody in the area that the law can't touch 'em), I can't help thinking that this is the only way these people will be stopped.
I just hope that you and your family are starting to recover physically and mentally, we're all with you mate!
You were a help to me after my accident last year and if ever you need anybody to talk to, there will always be sombody on here and most of us could also be there over the phone or in person if you needed us.
You really need a good blast on the Falco soon, to make you think more about the more pleasurable things in life!

Good to see you're able to update us - you may feel down but I think the fact that you're able to post up speaks volumes for your resilience and determination to deal with this.

What good news it is about that witness eh - now that takes some guts - I'm sure that we'd all like to shake them by the hand - and be determined to have the courage to do the same thing should we ever find ourselves in their situation.

Nice to have the people in the supermarket giving their verbal support - I guess that knowing people care is a real help.

I hope the law does its job and the case goes well. Just as a point of irony, it's bizarre that the courts have deemed that in choosing to drive a vehicle you forfeit the right to silence and are compelled to inform on who was driving when flashed by a camera - but someone who chooses to severely assault someone is fully entitled to their right of silence. The words "Is", "Ass", "An", "The" and "Law" can surely be arranged into an appropriate phrase .......

I just hope that my suggestion of sending cards hasn't f@@#ed things up or weakened the case - it wasn't until a while after I posted it that I thought there could be a problem (but more for the senders than the case itself). At the time it seemed a way to suggest more measured response than many of the 'proposals' being made. Nevertheless, I am really sorry if it has caused any problems.

Don't dwell on this any more than you must - enjoy the positives in life - your wife, your kid and anything else that puts a smile on your face.

As for feeling unmanned ...... this sounds like one of those automatic trains on the Docklands Light Railway .......
You've got a Falco (and a Chav Car) - you don't need public transport.

A/S just read the posts about your shocking ordeal, I can only offer you my support and best wishes, in what must be a very trying time for you and your family.

I live in the middle of one of the roughest areas in my town and see little s**t’s like this all the time, believe me, they DO get their just deserves in the end, one way or another. People who live by these low morals always end up in the gutter in a literal and metaphorical way.

All the best
Shaun

I was kinda upset when you "disappeared" that thread with scum's address, because I couldn't send him my card. Seems to have turned out well for a time being, as I read.

Wait for authorities to act, if they are 'impotent' in his case, there will be more 'potent' bunch waiting. Just throw that bat away, there are more sophisticated methods on the market nowadays... Safer to you.

Just look what he did to your mind, it hurts even to read your posts...Feck, he deserves to get HIS mind screwed with...

Hold in there.
Seb