Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward after a 13-year-old girl was assaulted by four young girls as she walked through Ryelands Park at the weekend.

The assault took place around 3.30pm on Sunday 2nd June, when the victim was walking through Ryelands Park near Owen Road. She was approached by four young girls – believed to be aged around 10 years old – who asked her for a light.

When she told them she didn’t smoke, one of the girls pulled her hair and pulled her to the floor, and the other girls kicked her in the side of her body before running away as a member of the public approached them.

PC Iain Walker from Lancaster Police said: “This is an unprovoked assault on a young girl who as a result sustained a bump to her head and scratches to her torso.

“Fortunately incidents like this are rare but I would appeal to anybody that witnessed this assault or with any information about the girls responsible to contact police on 101.”

The offenders ran from the scene in the direction of Torrisholme Road.