Buddhist monk attacked by masked e-bike rider

A Buddhist monk has been injured by two youths who punched and kicked him during an attack in a riverside park.

Karucha Sripramote said he had been repeatedly harassed by masked children in Hebburn Riverside Park, South Tyneside, including one on an e-bike who was deliberately spinning its rear wheel to throw grass and dirt at him.

The monk, who was wearing his orange Buddhist outfit at the time of Tuesday's attack, said he grabbed the rider's jacket to stop him approaching but was punched in the face before another youth kicked him to the ground.

Sripramote, who suffered a cut to his mouth and damage to his glasses, said he wanted parents to be aware what their children were getting up to.

He said he had seen youths riding close to people to "scare them" before.

"Many times they have tried to get my attention but I ignore them and most of the time it usually works and they go away."

Describing the latest attack, he said he heard someone shouting behind him and saw a boy on a bike with his face covered, so "avoided his path".

"He dropped in front of me like he wanted to get my attention," Sripramote said.

"When I tried to walk away from that spot he kept following me, he would not leave me alone.

"When I tried to approach him I realised he might ride the bike directly at me, so I grabbed his sleeve jacket and he started punching me in the face.

"I said to them 'I didn't do anything to you, I didn't do anything to you, I just want you to stop' and they said 'I know' and ran away."

Sripramote, who teaches Buddhism and meditation at the Dhammakaya Meditation Centre, said he posted about the attack on social media to raise awareness but initially decided not to report it.

He later contacted police after receiving advice but said he did not want to name or shame those involved.

Instead, he urged parents to speak to their children.

"It's not funny," he said. "Do they want their own family to be harassed by other people like this?

"Do they want their community to be not safe for the family they love?"

Residents of South Tyneside have previously spoken of groups of youths intimidating and terrorising locals, with one person likening the area to the "Wild West".

Northumbria Police is investigating the latest attack.

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