Arundel assault: Public urged not to speculate about attack on social media

Police said social media posts, many of which were ‘speculative and contain inaccurate information’, had been published about the incident near Swanbourne Lake.

A group of 17 and 18-year-olds were assaulted in the woods after being approached by three or four people wearing balaclavas.

One teenage boy suffered a broken jaw and a second teenage boy suffered a cheek injury and a burn injury on his leg.

Four others suffered injuries which are not deemed to be serious, police said – read the original report of the incident here.

Arun and Chichester District Commander, Chief Inspector Jon Carter said: “This is a serious assault, that officers are working hard to fully investigate.

“We are aware of social media posts relating to this assault, many of which are speculative and contain inaccurate information.

“This is a fast-paced investigation and these social media posts could limit our ability to conduct an effective investigation, and potentially harm any later prosecution.

“We believe this was an isolated incident where the suspects were known to some of the victims and our investigation to establish the full circumstances continues.

“We will continue to investigate this, and will take swift positive action against people identified as responsible for it.

“Arun and Chichester remain very safe areas to live, but I am determined to make them even safer, and make the area a hostile environment for those that choose to engage in or support criminal activity or anti-social behaviour.

“We continue to urge anyone with information on the assault to come forward to us and you can do that by reporting it online or by calling 101 quoting serial 55 of 29/07.”