A young five-year-old child watches in horror as he and his father's vehicle were trashed by five violent thugs with baseball bats and metal poles on Queens Park Road in Blackburn, Lancashire, UK.
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Video footage of the incident circulated on social media, where the criminals were seen smashing the silver BMW's windscreen and sending its wing mirrors flying. Shocked users slam the attackers for their "disgusting" actions, especially since it unfolded in front of the child's innocent eyes.
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To reports that a number of men with weapons were attacking a car, the police confirmed they were called to the scene at 6:20 pm on the 11th of August.
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The Lancashire Constabulary said: "The driver and his five-year-old son both received minor injuries during the incident which is being treated as a targeted attack.
"One man, aged 19, from Blackburn was later arrested on suspicion of Affray. Enquiries are ongoing to locate a number of other men."
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"While we do believe that this was a targeted attack it was nonetheless terrifying for this man and especially for his young son who was with him in the car," said Detective Sgt Rob Trickett, of Blackburn CID (criminal investigation department).
Extra patrols have been put on in the area as reassurance.
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The U.K. prime minister said Tuesday the country is putting its defense industry on a “war footing” by increasing defense spending to 2.5% of GDP by the end of the decade, and pledged to send arms worth 500 million pounds ($620 million) to Ukraine.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak described the increase as the “biggest strengthening of our national defense for a generation.”
“In a world that is the most dangerous it has been since the end of the Cold War, we cannot be complacent," Sunak said at a news briefing alongside NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a visit to Poland. “As our adversaries align, we must do more to defend our country, our interests and our values."
Sunak promised an extra 75 billion pounds ($93 billion) in defense spending over the next six years. The target of 2.5% of GDP spending was a re-commitment of a target set by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2022. Sunak previously said the goal would be met when economic conditions allow.
A decade ago, NATO leaders agreed to commit 2% of GDP to defense spending. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has given that effort new urgency. Britain has spent above that over the past decade but never higher than 2.35% in 2020, according to NATO data.
“We will put the U.K.’s own defense industry on a war footing,” Sunak told British troops serving on NATO's eastern front near Ukraine. “One of the central lessons of the war in Ukraine is that we need deeper stockpiles of munitions, and for industry to be able to replenish them more quickly.”
U.K. official figures show that defense spending last year was about 55.5 billion pounds. NATO data shows that amounting to about 2.07% of the U.K.’s GDP, ahead of countries including France and Germany but behind Poland, the U.S., Estonia and others.
“It's time for us to re-arm,” Sunak told a news briefing alongside Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, noting that Poland spends a larger percentage of its GDP on defense than any NATO ally.
Sunak said that next year Britain would deploy its Typhoon fighter jets to Poland to help police its skies. Poland, which borders Ukraine, has seen several incursions of its airspace since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Sunak also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to confirm the new assistance to Ukraine and "assure him of the U.K.’s steadfast support for Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s brutal and expansionist ambitions,” Sunak's office said.
U.K. authorities said the commitment included 400 vehicles, 60 boats, 1,600 munitions and 4 million rounds of ammunition, at a time when Ukraine is struggling to hold off advancing Russian forces on the eastern front line.
The shipment will include British Storm Shadow long-range missiles, which have a range of about 150 miles (240 kilometers) and have proved effective at hitting Russian targets.
Zelenskyy has pleaded for greater international assistance, warning that his country will lose the war without it.
Britain's announcement came three days after the U.S. House of Representatives approved $61 billion in new aid for Ukraine. The Senate was voting on the package Tuesday.
Ammunition shortages over the past six months have led Ukrainian military commanders to ration shells, a disadvantage that Russia has seized on this year — taking the city of Avdiivka and currently inching towards the town of Chasiv Yar, also in the eastern Donetsk region.
Hui reported from London.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, right, and Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pose at the Prime Minister Office in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. Sunak will hold talks with Tusk and Stoltenberg that will focus on Ukraine and wider European security. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, left, and Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pose at the Prime Minister Office in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. Sunak will hold talks with Tusk and Stoltenberg that will focus on Ukraine and wider European security. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, left, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk shake hands after addressing a press conference following bilateral talks at the Prime Minister's office in Warsaw, Poland, on Tuesday April 23, 2024. (Henry Nicholls, Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, left, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk, center, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, right, visit the Armourd Brigade barracks in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, left, and Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak shake hands prior to talks at the Warsaw Armoured Brigade in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday April 23, 2024. (Henry Nicholls/Pool via AP)
Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, right, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk, center, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, right, visit the Armourd Brigade barracks in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, left, and Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak shake hands prior to talks at the Warsaw Armoured Brigade in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday April 23, 2024. (Henry Nicholls/Pool via AP)
Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arrives at Warsaw Chopin airport in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday April 23, 2024. (Henry Nicholls/Pool via AP)
Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, left, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg arrive together at the Armourd Brigade barracks in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, April 23, 2024.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant, Pool)
Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks to journalists on board of the plane on the way to Warsaw Chopin airport, Tuesday April 23, 2024. (Henry Nicholls/Pool via AP)
Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, right, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, left, arrive together at the Armourd Brigade barracks in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, April 23, 2024.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant, Pool)
