The increasingly dangerous nature of an area in Bournemouth was recently highlighted by a vicious assault carried out on Halloween evening.
A 39 year-old man was injured in an unprovoked attack by three hooded men near Branksome Wood Road on the evening of October 31.
The man, unnamed by police, was approached by the men around midnight, when he was punched in the face and stomach and then pushed in a nearby stream underneath the Wessex Way overpass.
Despite having only sustained minor cuts and bruises, the victim had to spend several days in hospital recovering from his injuries.
Detective Constable of Bournemouth and Poole Alan Marks said the incident was “a nasty attack in one of Bournemouth’s busiest areas.”
DC Marks also said that so far they had been “unable to identify the offenders” therefore they were “very keen to speak to anyone who may have witnessed the incident take place, seen anything suspicious, or have any details regarding the suspects.”
Local resident Jim Parks, 41, said he was “unsurprised” by the incident as he believes Bournemouth is “getting worse” in terms of violent attacks.
Mr Park explained that the road often provided a route home for many people after nights out in Bournemouth city centre and that it was quite regular for attacks such as this to occur on Friday and Saturday nights.
The former doormen said that whilst he didn’t worry about roaming the streets at night, he would never allow his wife to walk alone in this area.
A look at the UK Crime Stats website reveals a low rate of crime around the Branksome Wood Road area, however its close proximity to Bournemouth city centre means that these figures may obscure the amount of crime that is happening.
