A teenage boy was mugged by a group of thugs who stamped on his head and stole his £1,100 designer jacket in a vicious assault.
The 15-year-old was out with three friends when the attackers approached them on Boxing Day in Williamson Square, Liverpool.
They were then beaten and threatened with a 'knife' near St John's shopping centre.
One of the boys was knocked to the ground and had his head stamped on by the older gang during the brutal attack, which took place at 3.50pm on Sunday, December 26.
The youngster was also forced to hand over his Canada Goose jacket as well as a watch and £200 cash.
Merseyside Police are currently investigating the incident, the Liverpool Echo reports.
Phil Evenson, the dad of the boy whose head was stamped on, told the ECHO his son "doesn't want to go back to Liverpool" after the attack.
The 33-year-old from New Ferry said: "He doesn't want to go back to Liverpool and I won't let him.
"Him and his friends were waiting outside St John's when someone came over and said 'where are you from lad?'
"Next thing he's punched him and gestured that he's got a knife. He put his hand down his pants and said 'give me your coat or I'll stab you.'
"He dragged the coat off his back that had a watch, Airpods and money in from Christmas. My son tried to run away but the other gang members chased after him and got him on the floor and started kicking him in the head.
"It was about 3.45pm and it was busy there and no one came over to my son to check if he was alright.
"I can sort of understand people not getting involved in case they had knives, but even after the gang ran away no one came over to see how he was."
The gang also assaulted another boy who was friends with Mr Evenson's son.
The dad added: "He's still really shook up to be honest.
"I've seen comments on Facebook where loads of people have been saying incidents like this happen all the time."
After the assault was posted in the Liverpool Crimewatch Facebook page, the Evenson family received plenty of messages of support from people who were offering to donate money to replace the son's stolen Christmas presents.
Mr Evenson said: "There has been a lot of positivity. I've had people messaging me saying they'll buy him a new coat or donate to a GoFundMe.
"I'm actually going to a designer shop tomorrow who said my son could come and pick out any jacket he wanted.
"It brought me to tears when I got that message to be honest. There's been a really positive response from the general public."
A spokeswoman for Merseyside Police said: "We can confirm that officers are investigating a robbery in Liverpool city centre where a number of items were reportedly stolen.
"At around 3.50pm on Sunday 26 December it was reported that five males approached two teenage boys in Williamson Square. The offenders assaulted and threatened a 15-year-old boy, demanding he hand over his coat.
"No weapon was seen by the victim.
"The victim handed over his coat before being chased to St John’s Precinct where he was assaulted again.
"Forensic investigation is being carried out and enquiries are ongoing, including examining CCTV footage."
Detective Inspector Ben Dyer said: “This was an appalling incident for the victim to have experienced which will not be tolerated on the streets of Merseyside.
“This incident took place at a time where it would have been busy, so if you were in the vicinity just before 4pm on Boxing Day and saw anything, then please contact us.”
Anyone with any information on this incident is asked to contact us @MerPolCC on Twitter, ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’ on Facebook or ring 101 with reference 21000890263. You can also contact Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via their online form at: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymously
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