Family beaten as YouTube party descends into chaos
LONDON (Reuters) - A teen-ager was airlifted to hospital and his father had his nose broken when gatecrashers went on the rampage at a 16th birthday party after details were posted on YouTube, police and media reports said Friday.
More than 100 uninvited teenagers descended on the family house, stole whisky and champagne, smashed windows and started fighting, according to reports.
Engineer David Worthy, 53, was punched in the face when he tried to turn away a group of youths, while his son Stephen, 18, was badly beaten.
A spokesman for Wiltshire Police in western England said an air ambulance took the teen-ager to hospital in Bath with suspected spinal injuries.
His mother Susan Worthy, 52, a nurse, said they feared for their lives as the youths attacked the outside of the house.
"We were scared stiff," she was reported as saying in the Times newspaper. "There was a loud bang and the windows smashed. I thought they were going to kill us."
Her husband said: "One was swearing right in my face so I pushed him away and then all hell let loose."
The party for their son Christopher was supposed to be a small event with about 30 invited guests. However, details were posted on the Internet, attracting dozens more teenagers.
The parents had taken their youngest son Richard, 14, for a pub meal last Saturday and planned to return home to watch a video upstairs while the revelers celebrated below.
After the gatecrashers arrived at their detached house in Chippenham, Wiltshire, they received a phone call from Stephen asking them to come home. His father was attacked when he asked the gatecrashers to leave.
"It's all a bit of a blur," he said. "I have had to take several days off work with my broken nose and two black eyes."
His son Stephen was discharged from hospital the next day.
Wiltshire Police arrested six teenagers aged between 15 and 18. Four were held on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm, while two others were detained for public order offences. They were all bailed.
