SHEFFIELD was today branded a "dangerous city" after 48 Spanish teenagers were forced to flee when they were set upon by a gang of yobs close to the city centre.
The youngsters, all aged from 13 to 17, were attacked with stones, bricks and plastic bottles and fled along Norfolk Park Road, seeking sanctuary at Heritage Park Special School.
Paramedics were called to treat a number of minor injuries and polic
e began a search to track down the gang.
The Spanish students have been staying with families in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire to experience life in Britain on a trip organised by a branch of the School of Languages in Chesterfield.
Language school manager Beatriz Monge said they had organised many similar visits to Sheffield over the years but would now be avoiding the city. She said: "It could be that Sheffield is becoming a dangerous city and we will avoid it - this sort of incident is not good for Sheffield."
Sheffield Council's new chief executive John Mothersole said he had been outraged to hear about the incident.
"This is totally unacceptable behaviour and I'm really sorry these students received this treatment," he said.
But Mr Mothersole added: "Sheffield is a welcoming city, and will continue to be. These mindless actions are not representative of true Sheffielders."
Heritage Park headteacher John Hill said many of the students were hysterical when they arrived at his school after the attack.
"They ran in seeking refuge. Some had cuts and bruises but many more were suffering from shock and were sick," he said.
"The whole of our dining room was turned into a medical centre - we had to enact our school's disaster policy."
The teenagers had come to the UK from homes in the Madrid area and had been staying with families in Chesterfield as part of a programme organised by the local branch of the School of Languages.
They had arrived in Sheffield by train intending to walk to the ice rink on Queens Road, not realising it had closed two years before.
The teenagers, who were being led by two older guides aged 20, were attacked as they walked along Queens Road in what police described as an unprovoked attack.
Mr Hills added: "These were quite clearly nice young middle class teenagers whose families had paid a lot of money for them to be here. Most of them were absolutely distraught."
June Graham, a co-ordinator at the School of Languages, said they were very grateful for the school's help. " We have never had problems like this before in Sheffield," she said.
PC Wayne Jackson, investigating the attack last Friday, said the group of males involved were aged 11-20.
Anyone with any information about the incident should call police on 0114 296 4131.
The full article contains 469 words and appears in Sheffield Star newspaper.
