Victim says gang violence is a way of life in Ayrshire villages

Oct 17 2008

A BRAVE victim of the Drongan and Auchinleck yobs refuses to let his ordeal get to him.

The 19-year-old student spoke to the Ayrshire Post after his attackers admitted beating him up and knocking him unconscious.

And he says that such incidents are not uncommon thanks to a village feud lasting generations.

The young man from Cumnock said: “What happened to me was apparently in retribution for an attack on a Drongan boy the night before.

“The older boys seem to get on better with each other but the younger teenagers are always fighting. I’ve always hated being on a bus going through Auchinleck.”

But the computer networking student has never been a part of the gang rivalry.

Speaking of his experience, he said: “I had just been to the cash line and was walking through The Square to get the bus into Ayr to meet some friends.

“There are normally young boys hanging around but I don’t really know any of them. I just took for granted that it was Cumnock boys. If I’d known it wasn’t I would have been out of there like a shot.

“They came toward me and started hitting me. The next thing I knew I woke up in the back of a police car.

“For a couple of weeks after it I was a bit nervous. If I went anywhere I wanted to know who everyone in my company was, I was probably verging on being paranoid, but I’m absolutely fine now.

“It’s not going to get me down, I’m not worried about it any more.”