A Scot pensioner was subjected to a brutal attack by a gang of girls as she mourned the anniversary of her husband's death.
Arlene Cowan, 67, had been on her way to see daughter Miriam on Tuesday night but was set upon as she waited for a taxi outside her home.
Miriam told Edinburgh Live that the group heaped verbal abuse on the pensioner before physically attacking her.
She claims that when the taxi arrived to pick her mum up, the driver saw the scene and drove off.
Arlene was punched and stamped on by the all-female group, who stole her bag before fleeing.
Daughter Miriam said: "It was my dad's anniversary of his death, so she said, 'I'd appreciate a wee cuddle'.
"“She said she would call a taxi and see me soon. It was around 1:20 AM.
“I didn't hear from her, so I called her at half past, no answer, text her, no answer."
It was only later on she discovered that her mum had been subjected to the brutal assault, after police took the pensioner to St John's Accident and Emergency in Livingston.
Miriam added: "She was standing at the top of the path, and she saw a crowd of girls: four of them, one with short hair, three with long hair.
“The girls said, 'look at the state of that auld woman', and they were laughing at her.
“One of them said 'what the f*** are you doing standing there?'
“Mum said 'I live here, I'm waiting on a taxi to go to my daughter's,' and with that the one with the short hair punched her in the side of the head, and in the eye, she fell down.
“She said when she came to all four of them were stamping on her head and kicking her in the face and body.
“At one point she was crawling, trying to get away and they kicked her in the head and laughed at her."
Miriam added that when Arlene's taxi arrived at her home in West Lothian, the driver took one look at the horrific scene before driving off.
“The taxi she had been waiting on, drove in the street, saw the commotion, and turned and drove back out.
“Mum said she was thankful when she saw the taxi's lights, you can imagine how terrified she felt when the taxi turned and drove out.
“The girls said a few things to her about being pathetic and took her bag from her.
“Then the police came and they took her to St John's.
“Nothing is broken but her mental health is in a state and the damage that's been done to her face and body is an absolute disgrace.
“She doesn't want to go out anymore, she was crying tonight, but saying she's fine.
“Obviously she's not fine and don't know how she will recover from this at all.”
Police Scotland was contacted for comment.
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