Teenage Wigan victim of gang attack finds peace after meeting attackers in Restorative justice scheme

“We passed a group of young people who accused us of giving them dirty looks,” she said. “Before we knew it, the group had grabbed my friend by the hair and pulled her to the floor before turning on me.”

She was left with injuries to her face, arm, legs and scalp as well as losing a lot of hair, leaving her with bald patches.

The group had already received cautions from the police after the incident, but Amy and her mother Sam, 42, were unable to forget what had happened.

Ms Clarke said: “I wanted to meet them. Not to have a go, but to make them see the impact their actions had on the whole family and to try and make them see that they could have a better future than this.

“I wanted to see if they could look me in the eye knowing what they had done to my daughter.”

Research suggests, while primarily seeking to repair the harm caused by crime, restorative justice can also help to reduce reoffending.

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