There's A Strange Familiarity...

Jessica, Charlie and his little sister Elsie, two, were on their way back from a family day out when they stopped at the McDonald's in Hampton near Peterborough, Cambs.

He had been holding his mother's hand but she turned round after feeling his hand slip out of hers to see the girl on top of him.

A woman, believed to be the girl's mum, was telling her to stop and allegedly said 'I'm sorry, she's autistic,' according to the mother.

Well, that's OK then. If you can't prevent her attacking children, why are you taking her into places crowded with them?

Jessica said the girl was 'hitting, scratching, biting. Down his back, his bottom, his legs.' She said: 'I leaned down and I was saying 'oh no, jump up'. As I got down to lift him up, I realised the girl was shaking her head and her teeth were in his back. He was obviously hysterical.

'Charlie was still crying. I managed to pull him away slightly but it was at least 30 seconds, and she was biting him all the way down his body as I dragged him.

'She was biting, hitting, scratching him. Then I fell back myself and had Charlie on top of me because I gave one last tug.'

Horrifying!

Jessica claims the police initially failed to investigate the incident which happened on July but have since made inquiries.

Sure, when it's too late. They should have been called by the McDonald's staff if the mother of the victim was too distraught, and the attacker detained for their arrival.

Jessica shared a post about the experience on social media, which has since been shared more than 7,000 times.

She wrote: 'I'm so angry! I'm so so very upset! How can my child go through this, and yet no one is going to be held responsible?

'What is this teaching him? Who is protecting him? I'm trying so hard to be understanding to every aspect of the situation, but it just doesn't seem right.'

She added: 'I just feel like Charlie is being failed and I just don't know what to do?!'

Have less 'understanding' and 'concern' for the attacker, and next time, draw blood, kick, punch, do whatever it takes! FFS, woman, it's your child at risk!

A Cambridgeshire police spokesperson said: 'This incident was reported to us and investigated.

'The family involved have since been identified and we are working with both families to deal appropriately with this matter taking into consideration the sensitivities and needs of the victim and girl.'

This story reads like every dangerous dog story I’ve ever read and reported on this blog: lack of concern or help from the ‘owner’, police indifference until the social media campaign, the portrayal of the attacker (by social media commenters) as somehow having been 'provoked'....

No doubt we'll soon be reading about another attack. Maybe next time the child victim won't be so fortunate to just have bites and scratches.