Gang of UK teens beats up Polish man in Leeds

Police in the northern English city of Leeds called for possible witnesses to come forward on Monday and provide details on the suspected hate crime.

According to police information, the victim and his friend were confronted by a large group of hooded teenagers in the Armley district of Leeds on Friday night. The youths made racially charged comments and started pursuing the victims, catching up with the Polish man several streets away.

The attackers, reportedly between 16 and 18 years of age, kicked and punched the man. The 28-year-old sustained a cut to his head that required stitches. He has been hospitalized.

"It is vital that we hear from anyone who witnessed any part of this incident or who has any information that could assist us in tracing the people responsible," West Yorkshire police chief Paul Money said in a statement published on the police website.

'Isolated incident'

The police boosted patrols in the area after the attack.

The superintendent also addressed the local Polish community, saying that the authorities "will not tolerate hate incidents of this nature."

Authorities have noted a surge in attacks on ethnic minorities across Great Britain, especially Poles, in the weeks before and after the Brexit vote in July. Last month, a group of teenagers ambushed a Polish man in Harlow, near London, beating him to death.

However, officers in Leeds were treating the latest attack as "an isolated incident and not as an indicator of any ongoing hate issue in the area," police chief Money said.

"Armley is an area with a strong sense of community (…) and I know that people living there will be as shocked and appalled as we are at this incident," he added.