A frightened and angry father has said that the violence in Dublin's seaside towns is turning into an "epidemic" following a brutal 20 punch attack on his son.

His son was viciously battered in broad daylight and left with a suspected broken nose, simply because he "wasn't from Swords".

The father told Dublin Live that his son and friend decided to head to Swords to visit a music shop last week when they were targeted and attacked, twice.

He said: "The shop was closed so the pair decided to walk to the main street of Swords and get something to eat in McDonald's.

"When they finished they walked outside - it was around 6pm - when a gang of around seven young teens followed them out and terrorised them.

"They hit my son's friend a few times, made him get on his knees and kept asking him 'what's your name?'. They recorded themselves doing this and put it up on Snapchat.

"I saw the video. It was heartbreaking to watch and I haven't been right since seeing it. They were trying to humiliate and hurt him."

The two boys wanted no trouble and made the decision to cut their trip short and get the bus back home again.

He continued: "They walked in the opposite direction of the gang to get to the bus but it was almost as if the small gang had alerted others because then, they were surrounded by a gang of about 12 young teenagers.

"My son wasn't sure if some of the teens had been in McDonald's too. He didn't want to make eye contact.

"They asked the two boys where they were from and what they replied with was the wrong answer - they weren't from Swords."

The huge gang began to pelt the two boys with punches with his son receiving around 20 in total.

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He continued: "My son said it was like there was hits coming from every angle, the back of his head, his face, his body.

"He knelt down in a bid to shelter his face from getting punched but he got a knee and a few digs to the nose."

The two boys managed to escape to a nearby shop where the boy called his mam.

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"My wife immediately brought him to the Beaumont - I was away with work at the time - but because of his age, they wouldn't take him so he had to go to Temple Street.

"Because there was so much swelling, they said the x-ray would be inconclusive so he has to go back to the ear and throat specialist but they're certain his nose is broken."

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His father got on the next flight home in order to look out for, and more importantly, get justice for his son.

"These thugs have absolutely no fear and these random acts of violence are happening in Swords, Malahide, Portmarnock Lusk, everywhere along the coast.

"They go around taking phones and giving beatings to innocent kids and if someone stands up to them, they find out where they live they can hop on the train to hurt them.

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"And the worse thing is, they're confident. Someone I know, an adult, confronted them and they said 'go on, hit me, you're the one that'll go to jail.

"They film everything in order to gloat to their friends and warn others of what they can do. That's how I saw the video which is currently in the hands of the gardai."

The Dad fears that without CCTV or eye-witnesses from the second brutal attack at the bus stop, they'll just get "a slap on the wrist".

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"These are scary teenagers. My son is 5ft 11" and he said these boys were of the same age bracket but even bigger and stronger again.

"They picked on him and his friend as if they were some rival gang but the thing is, he's never seen them before in his life."

The dad said that garda resources in north county Dublin areas are restricted and that the gangs are feeding off that.

PICTURES: Young girl pulled to ground and repeatedly punched View gallery

Mayor of Fingal, Councillor Eoghan O'Brien previously said following a separate attack in Malahide that "the gardai in Dublin at the moment are operating on shoestring resources throughout the county and it's having a massive influence on the rise of violence in the capital."

The dad continued: "They are almost immune to complying with the law. They're not afraid of the police because they know what their chances are of getting away with it and [those chances] are pretty good.

"It seems to be Swords vs Portmarnock vs Malahide vs Lusk vs Rush vs Skerries and it goes on and on.

"If you fall into any of the many wrong categories or are in the wrong place at the wrong time, you're a target.

"It has become an epidemic along the coastline and something proper needs to be done about it."

He concluded: "It's on the agenda of every single Dublin parent today and it's their worst nightmare.

"Some child is going to be killed soon. I wonder is that what it will take before the Government address this huge Dublin issue?"

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A spokesman for the Gardai told Dublin Live that they are "investigating the alleged assault" and confirmed that the "male in his teens was taken to hospital".

The spokesman added: "No arrests have been made and investigations are ongoing."