Update: Six Young Girls Held After Shocking Park Assault in Hove

A summer evening in Wish Park, usually alive with families and children playing, turned into the scene of a disturbing assault that has left a community shaken and six schoolgirls under arrest. Shortly before 6pm on Friday, 15 August, emergency services rushed to the park after reports of a group of girls attacking a 13-year-old. […]

A summer evening in Wish Park, usually alive with families and children playing, turned into the scene of a disturbing assault that has left a community shaken and six schoolgirls under arrest.

Shortly before 6pm on Friday, 15 August, emergency services rushed to the park after reports of a group of girls attacking a 13-year-old. The victim was taken to hospital with injuries, treated, and later discharged — but the incident has cast a dark shadow over the neighbourhood.

Police have since confirmed that six girls — two aged just 12, and four aged 13 — all from the Brighton area, have been arrested on suspicion of assault. Officers say more arrests are likely as the investigation continues.

Chief Inspector Simon Marchant called the attack “deeply troubling,” a sentiment that will echo with parents across Hove. Inspector Kat Argholeka stressed that detectives are following a number of leads and appealed for the community’s help in piecing together what happened.

What has unsettled residents further is the circulation of videos linked to the attack. Sussex Police have urged people not to share the footage online, warning it could jeopardise any future trial. The message is clear: let justice run its course.

For now, Wish Park has returned to its usual calm, but questions remain about how such a young group ended up at the centre of such violence. Police are asking anyone with information to come forward, as the community waits anxiously for answers.