Teenage girl arrested on suspicion of punching an 80-year-old Sikh man and spitting in his face



Girl, 19, arrested at an address in Gloucester yesterday evening

Follows attack on 80-year-old Sikh man in Coventry city centre

'Despicable' violent attack left man with black eye and bloody nose



A teenage girl has been arrested on suspicion of a 'despicable' violent attack on an elderly man that left him with a bloodied nose and a black eye.

Police arrested the 19-year-old suspect yesterday, after the 80-year-old Sikh man was punched in the face and shoved to the ground in Coventry city centre in broad daylight last Saturday.



Video footage of the sickening attack, which showed a female assailant spitting on the elderly victim, had been circulated widely on social media and met with a wave of revulsion from viewers.

The man, 80, was punched in the face and shoved to the ground in broad daylight in Trinity Street in Coventry city centre last Saturday

Captured by a witness using a mobile phone, the footage shows the man left sprawled on the pavement, his turban having fallen off.



The teenage suspect was arrested at around 6.30pm yesterday after police traced her to an address in Gloucester.

Officers said she would be taken to a local police station for questioning.



Coventry Police chief superintendent Andy Nicholson, said: 'This was a despicable, violent attack on an elderly man in broad daylight.



'The victim is an 80-year-old man - he was left with a bloodied nose and a black eye.

Suspect: Police arrested the 19-year-old on Friday evening after she was traced to an address in Gloucester (file photo)

'A video showing the assault spread rapidly on social media and quite rightly the offender's actions are being condemned by everyone who's viewed it.'



The attack, which appears to have been unprovoked, happened at around 8.30pm near Sainsbury's in Coventry's Trinity Street.



Police are still keen to hear from people who witnessed the incident and moments leading up to the attack and have urged anyone who shared the video or still images of the assault to remove them from social media accounts as they could hinder the inquiry.

