Two men have been bashed by a group of teenagers while walking home from the MTV Beats & Eats music festival in Wollongong.
28-year-old Dean Allison was walking home with his 34-year-old cousin Danny after celebrating his birthday at the festival on Saturday night, when they were allegedly set upon by a group of eight to 10 teenagers.
Fairfax Media reports that Allison, Danny and Danny’s girlfriend were walking around 30 metres in front of their larger group of friends at around 10:30pm, when they turned onto Corrimal Street and allegedly saw a group of teenagers destroying road signs and letterboxes.
“Danny said, ‘C’mon boys… you can’t be doing that.’ We had to walk past them, and just started getting punched to the side of the head,” says Allison.
“I was down on all fours and they were kicking me and punching me in the back of the head. That’s all I can really remember.”
Police interrupted the alleged assault, before chasing the teenagers. Four teenagers have since been charged in relation to the incident, and have been released on bail.
Allison was left with two fractured eye sockets, while Danny was reportedly unconscious for almost five minutes following the attack.
Allison, who works as a mine operator, is waiting to have stabilising metal plates inserted into his face. He’s also too injured to return to work.
“I have a constant headache,” he tells Fairfax. “It feels like there’s heaps of pressure behind my eyes from all the swelling.
“I’m not allowed to pick up [five-month-old son] Ashton, because it could affect the fractures in my face.
“We’re living off my wage and now I’m going to be off work so it’s going to be a bit stressful, worrying about all that. I’ll know on Thursday when I’ll get the surgery done, but it will be months.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact Wollongong Police (02 4226 7899) or Crime Stoppers (1800 333 000).
