A North Herts district councillor, who reported being assaulted by a group of young people in Letchworth last Monday, has spoken out about the ordeal.

Letchworth Grange Councillor Daniel Allen has spoken about the difficulty of defending yourself during such incidences.

He told the Comet: “I’ve made my police statement and now feel comfortable sharing this.

“On Monday at around 7pm, I was attacked in Letchworth near Mrs Howard Memorial Hall by a group of six kids. They were young teenagers, maybe 13 years old. They spat on me, kicked me and threw traffic cones at me.

“What did I do to apparently deserve this? I took three traffic cones out of the road, which they were trying to block.

“More than half a dozen people walked past and did nothing, it lasted 15 minutes.

“I did shout and swear at them in response. As a 6ft 3in, 17 stone male, there was literally no way I could legally physically defend myself and every time I went to move away they boxed me in.

“There has been a spate of things in Letchworth that have reportedly been attributed to the same group, including the assault on a member of staff at Morrisons and issues at Mrs Howard Hall and the library.”

A police spokeswoman said: “Police are investigating an assault that happened in Hillshott in Letchworth on Monday, March 11, at around 6.52pm.

“Following a verbal altercation, a group of young people kicked the victim, a 38-year-old man, in the shin and back of the leg/

“They also spat on him before throwing traffic cones and leaving the area.

“One of the offenders is described as a mixed-race female wearing a pink coat. Two other offenders are described as male wearing Ellesse tracksuits and a female wearing a yellow coat.

“Any witnesses, or anyone with information should contact Herts police on the non-emergency number 101, quoting crime reference 41/23102/19.”