Seven charged with attempted murder of Berlin homeless man Published duration 28 December 2016 Related Topics Europe migrant crisis

image copyright EPA image caption The man had been sleeping on a bench in the underground station when he was attacked

Seven young migrants have been charged with attempted murder in Germany after they allegedly tried to set a homeless man alight on Christmas Day.

Six of the suspects, aged between 15 and 18, surrendered to police immediately after CCTV pictures of the incident in Berlin were released.

The victim, who was attacked in an underground station, was unharmed.

A seventh suspect, a 21-year-old who police say was the main perpetrator, was arrested near his home.

Six of those detained are from Syria, one is Libyan.

All of them came to Berlin as asylum seekers in 2014 and 2016, according to the prosecutor's office.

The homeless man, aged 37, was sleeping on a bench under sheets of paper in the Schoenleinstrasse underground station in the southern Berlin district of Neukoelln, when he was set on fire about 02:00 (01:00 GMT) on Sunday.

A train driver used a fire extinguisher to control the flames as passers-by helped to put them out.