A DISABLED Winsford teenager was beaten up by two men - then told by police that he was not a victim of crime.

Adam Jones, 19, was walking home from his voluntary work at Willow Wood Community Centre on Monday night, August 7.

He was attacked from behind by two men who punched him in the face and he was unable to run away because of a physical disability.

But when the worried family called police, they were told by officers that this kind of assault was not a crime.

Adam said: "I had bruising to the face and head, and cut lips. The police took a look at the injuries and said it had all the signs of a common assault.

"But they said they do not deal with common assault because if they had to deal with them all it would be a waste of police resources."

In a cruel twist the family also received a copy of the police annual report the next day - informing them that the crime rate has fallen by one per cent in the last year.

Adam's mother, Tracey Jones, said: "I cannot believe that even though my son was attacked, beaten and bleeding, it was not a crime.

"It seems that if we ignore all crimes then the crime rate will fall again and we can all sleep better at night. I think not."

Detective Chief Inspector Alec Johns said: "Common assaults are recordable crimes, but every case is different and has to be dealt with on its own terms.

"I cannot comment on an individual case, but there are varying degrees of assault. It is up to individual officers who attend an incident to make decisions based on the circumstances and the seriousness of the injuries.

"We will be looking into this case."

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