Gang of teenage girls filmed attacking train staff and police walk out of court – after blaming it on ‘mass hysteria’

A gang of teenage girls who went viral on social media after being filmed attacking train staff, passengers and police in a drunken rampage have been spared jail.

The five girls, who cannot be named for legal reasons, threw punches, headbutted and pulled out their hair in an incident described as “mass hysteria”.

A young girl held up a clump of hair from a train passenger’s head like a trophy during the hour-long melee, a court heard.

A judge said videos of the incident showed the girls were relentless, completely out of control and demonstrated a continued determination to wreak havoc.

“It was chaos, chaos, bedlam,” District Judge Teresa Szagun said.

The youngest was just 13 when a fight broke out at Barnham train station, West Sussex, between the group and another young girl.

Members of the public, train staff and police who tried to intervene were attacked by the girls.

Local residents claimed the usually quiet village of Barnham was being taken hostage by wild youths after images of the girl gang were widely shared on social media.

All five admitted fights and assaults against train staff, police and members of the public.

Two women were knocked down by the girls before officers were kicked and headbutted as they tried to arrest them.

A train security guard had to be hospitalized after being hit in the face with his own radio.

Judge Szagun told the five girls they would have been imprisoned if they had been old enough.

The attacks were completely out of character for the girls, the court heard.

One of the group members was the principal of her school and was described as an exemplary student.

Others were described as bright, capable and intelligent.

The court heard one of the girls held up a clump of hair like a trophy and laughed, Brighton Magistrates Court heard.

She told the girl, now aged 17: “You were involved from start to finish for over an hour.

“You were seen kicking another girl over and over while she was on the ground.

“Your aggression then turned towards the innocent bystander who was trying to stop this.

“Your reaction to realizing you have a clump of hair in your hand is horrible, it’s almost like you’re holding it like a trophy and laughing.

“It incited you to commit more violence, there was a constant determination to wreak havoc.”

The judge told another member of the group, aged 16: “Your behavior was really aggressive.

“You were intimidating confronting the officers.

“You were ready to hit an officer in the back of the head.

“Another officer takes off his jacket when you take the opportunity to punch him, and he also lunges at another officer when he thinks you’ve calmed down.

“He was taken by surprise.”

She told another girl: “You were completely out of control and relentless.

“If you were adults, I would sentence you to detention. »

The court heard it was clear all five were very drunk. Other passengers in a waiting room, concerned for their well-being, tried to give them water.

The fighting began after a confrontation with another girl and quickly escalated.

The judge told another girl: “You just kept going.

“I don’t think any compensation will have any impact on the people who must have been so frightened.

Two men had to be hospitalized and one victim had a significant amount of hair pulled from his head.

A viral video of the incident, which happened on Easter Saturday March 30, and clips of shoplifting in Barnham led police to seek dispersal orders.

Local business owners hired private security, and residents held a public meeting to demand action.

The five girls had been drinking before launching a violent attack on another girl in the waiting room at Barnham station.

None of the girls, two aged 15, two aged 16 and one aged 13 at the time, can be named for legal reasons.

Defending one of the girls, Paula Bristow described the incident as having an element of mass hysteria.

“She did well in school and it wasn’t like her at all.

“There is an element of mass hysteria in this incident.”

The three youngest girls were given nine-month removal orders.

The two older girls received intensive 12-month referral orders.

Compensation will be paid to the woman who lost a clump of hair, her mother with whom she was traveling and another police officer who also had her hair pulled out.