A TERRIFYING attack carried out by a gang of youngsters on Bournemouth beach has left two teenage girls too scared to go out on their own.

Sisters Kimberley and Chanelle Drew and three girl friends were at the beach just west of Bournemouth Pier when the incident happened last Thursday.

Tomboy Chanelle, 13, and her friend had earlier joined in a game of frisbee with members of the 15-20 strong group, although others came over and called them “white trash”.

As they were leaving the beach, Chanelle pointed out one of the girls that had been nice to her. A male member of the group came over and grabbed her by the throat.

“He pushed her to the ground, and went to kick her in the head. She was curled up into a ball,” said the girls’ mother Sara Drew.

Kimberley, 16, tried to pull her sister’s attackers away but they went for her instead. Although there were several people around, only one man intervened to stop the assault.

An ambulance was called and the girls were checked over before being taken to the police station to give statements.

Mrs Drew, 37, said: “I was just leaving to pick them up when the police rang me. They said ‘don’t panic, we have got your daughters, they have been involved in a scuffle’.

“When I got to the police station they were in a right state. Kimberley was shaking and had marks all round the tops of her arms. Their clothes were torn and they’ve got marks where someone had grabbed their arms and dug their nails in. They’ve both had hair ripped out.”

Kimberley felt dizzy and sick later and Mrs Drew took both girls to hospital, where she was told they probably had whiplash and slight concussion.

“My neck is hurting and when I try to get to sleep, I get an image of them trying to strangle my sister. We didn't do anything to provoke it,” said Kimberley.

She said she and her sister had feared for their lives and thanked the man who came to their rescue.

Mrs Drew said: “The police said they were lucky they didn’t get stabbed or worse. We just want them caught. They can’t be allowed to get away with this.”

A spokesperson for Dorset Police said they had received a call at 5.28pm from a friend of the girls reporting an assault on two females by a group of Chinese males and females. They are thought to be in their late teens and the girls had seen some of them smoking cannabis.

Anyone who saw the assault can contact police on 01202 222222.