Teen army cadets in uniform targeted by vicious thugs



Uniformed army cadets have been targeted and assaulted by thugs who accused the teenagers of being murderers.



A 15-year-old girl cadet was viciously attacked as a woman repeatedly tried to headbutt her.



The adult offenders threatened and abused the young group, picking on them because they were in uniform, regulation boots and hat on their way to training in West Bromwich, in the West Midlands.

Target: Returning soldiers from Iraq were abused by Muslim extremists during a homecoming parade in Luton earlier this month



Police are now hunting a woman who attacked the 15-year-old girl, shouted abuse, attempted to wrench the uniform off the cadet and then accused her of killing the woman's uncle.

A man shouted abuse at the cadets and threatened to 'get' them for wearing their army combats.

The girl, who is too frightened to be named, had been walking to the West Bromwich Army Cadets training session at the Territorial Army building in Carters Green on Monday evening with six friends.

Her mother said: 'A woman in her 30s grabbed her arm, tried to headbutt her twice and said she had killed her uncle.

Uniforms: Airmen and women at one of Britain's most famous RAF bases were advised not to wear uniforms in public in March 2008



'She tried to rip the uniform off her. I don't understand why these people are doing this.

'All she wants to do is something positive in her spare time.'



Army chiefs today described the incident as "unfortunate" but unusual and West Midlands police confirmed they were treating the incident as assault. Both the woman and the man were white.



The attack comes just weeks after soldiers returning from Iraq faced abuse as they paraded through Luton.



Muslim extremists hurled abuse and called the 200 returning soldiers from 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment 'terrorists' and 'butchers of Basra'.



It also echoes incidents in Peterborough. Last March officers at RAF Wittering told airmen not to leave the base in uniform after servicemen were taunted by people opposed to UK involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq.