The 38-year-old mother spent the past two days in hospital after having her nose operated on. She sustained the injury after her 13-year-old daughter had been surrounded by members of the girl gang - dubbed the Zehbis - at the Ostend fair.

The girl managed to get away, suffering a couple of bruises, but is reported to have been hit in the face anyway. When she had fled the scene, she called her mother. When her mother arrived, she also got surrounded by gang members, sustaining the injury when somebody planted a knee in her face.

Ostend police confirm an investigation is going on. The mother's lawyer says that grabbing one of the girls by the neck was purely an act of self-defence.