Appeal for witnesses following assault of teenage boy in Romsey

Officers investigating the assault of a teenage boy in Romsey are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

On Friday (20 December) at approximately 2pm, we were called to an altercation taking place outside of the Bishop Blaize pub on Winchester Road.

While this incident did take place outside the pub, none of those involved had been in the pub prior to the incident and the pub was not involved in any way. We are including the name of the pub in this appeal as a reference point for any witnesses who may have seen what happened. 

During the incident, a man in a white Ford Mondeo assaulted a 14-year-old boy, threatened him and attempted to get him into the car, which he was travelling in with a teenage boy. The 14-year-old boy and the group that he was with ran away, and the man returned to the car and drove off.

An investigation into this incident has been launched and we have arrested a 21-year-old man from Romsey on suspicion of common assault and taking a child. We have also arrested a 17-year-old boy from Romsey on suspicion of common assault and taking a child. They have both been released from police custody on conditional bail. 

Since this incident was reported to us we have been carrying out a number of enquiries and officers have been in the area conducting dedicated patrols.

We believe that Winchester Road was busy at the time of the incident, with a number of passers-by in vehicles and on foot.

We are now appealing to anyone who saw what happened and has not yet spoken to police to please come forward and speak to us.

Perhaps you were walking through the area and saw the altercation, the moments leading up to it or the car driving away. Maybe you were driving along Winchester Road and have dash cam which may have captured something.

Anyone with any information that may assist our enquiries is asked to call us on 101 quoting the reference 44240553261. Alternatively you can go online and submit information via https://www.hampshire.police.uk/tua/tell-us-about/cor/tell-us-about-existing-case-report/

You can also submit information 100% anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or by visiting https://crimestoppers-uk.org/

Officers will remain in the area patrolling over the coming days. Anyone with information, questions or concerns is asked to please come and speak to them – they will be more than happy to help.