Heres a news report and guess which identifying characteristic is somehow "missing"???
Patheitc, isnt is???
Lifesaver bashing 'not isolated' From: AAP By Tara Ravens December 05, 2005
A GANG of youths who regularly descend on Cronulla to harass locals and beachgoers have been blamed for a brutal attack on two young lifesavers, one of whom was bashed unconscious.
Stephen Leahy, rescue services manager for Surf Life Saving Sydney, said today that yesterday's attack was not an isolated incident in the beachside suburb. He said a gang of youths from western Sydney had been "creating havoc" for almost seven years, prompting up to three calls a day for police assistance during the peak of summer.
"The group is generally out to have a good time but by community standards it is nothing more than harassment and intimidation," Mr Leahy said.
Yesterday's "good time" involved the bashing of two volunteer lifesavers, aged 19 and 20, who were patrolling the beach when they were attacked by four of the gang members, he said.
The 19-year-old, only six weeks on the job, was punched and knocked unconscious.
Advertisement: He suffered a number of severe lacerations that required hospital treatment, including "a horrific looking injury" above his eye, Mr Leahy said. The rest of the gang's 25 or so members then set upon the pair, delivering more blows to their heads.
"It is the first time there has been an actual physical assault but it's certainly not the first time the gang has intimidated surf lifesavers or the public," Mr Leahy said.
After arriving by train from "somewhere in western Sydney", Mr Leahy said the gang "used verbal threats and harassment to intimidate".
"They will purposely throw balls at on duty guards or beach beachgoers," he said.
Cronulla lifesavers usually called for police assistance about two to three times a month, Mr Leahy said, but on hot days, when gang numbers tend to swell, it could be three a day.
"It's really hard to do anything because by the time the police get there they have dispersed or changed clothing so it's hard to identify them," Mr Leahy said.
"The police do as much as they can to help and they always respond when we call."
But acting Opposition police spokesman Andrew Tink said a drop in police numbers might have contributed to the bashing.
"The attack on these lifesavers illustrates how declining police resources are leaving such community volunteers vulnerable," Mr Tink said.
Cronulla's local police branch had lost 18 officers since March 2003, he said.
Mr Leahy warns the gang's antics could end up costing lives.
"What's now happened is that a number of parents and some lifesavers have indicated that they don't want to patrol the beach as they are scared they will get bashed," he said.
"This is going to cause some real problems for the service and end up risking lives."
Last season North Cronulla surf lifesavers carried out a total of 148 rescues, 259 first aid treatments and 2728 preventative actions.
