By Tom Barton

31 Jul, 2002

Page 10

A MOTHER last night said her family would never return to North Wales on holiday after thugs mugged her 14-year-old son for his mobile phone.

Adrian Rose, 14, from Cardiff, was walking to the family caravan from the Sands nightclub at Presthaven Sands campsite, in Gronant, when the attack took place.

A gang of five people grabbed him by his throat and searched his pockets where they found the pounds 70 phone.

He said: 'Some boys walked up and asked me for a light. I said I haven't got one and walked away, but they came up behind me and grabbed me around my throat.

'They then threw me by my neck, and the little kid nicked my phone,' he said.

Adrian's mother, Angela, 43, said that their holiday - the family's first visit to North Wales - had been spoiled by the incident, and that they were considering cutting the visit short.

'I was really shaken up, and just wanted to go home,' she said. 'We've only stayed up here for the kids - and I'm not letting them out of my sight now.'

The mother-of-three added: 'It's a shame because there is so much that they could do as teenagers on holiday, and they are now too scared to do anything.'

Mrs Rose will never visit the region again. 'There's too many memories,' she said.

'We have been to other caravan sites - in Devon, Somerset and Tenby - and have never had any problems and we've really enjoyed it. It's a shame because North Wales is such a lovely place, but I don't think we'll be coming back.'

Mrs Rose said that the telephone - a Nokia 3210 that Adrian had bought with his birthday money - was in the teenager's pocket at the time of the attack, and that the muggers had searched through his clothes to see what they could find.

A spokesman for the Presthaven Sands campsite said: 'Our security guards work very closely with the police in ensuring that there is a friendly family atmosphere at our sites.

'Over the last two years, we have worked very hard at ensuring crime is at a minimum at our site.'

Adrian has given descriptions of three of his attackers. The man was around 30 and wearing a beige top. A 17-year-old youth was around 6ft 2in tall and had a strong Scottish accent.

A third boy was described as being thin, about 5ft 7in tall, and aged about 14.

* North Wales Police are appealing for anyone who may have been in the Presthaven Sands area on Sunday night or early Monday morning, or who may have information about the attack, to contact them on 0845 6071002.