A mother and son and even their family dogs were subjected to a vicious assault by a gang of thugs in Southampton

Amanda Grierson was thrown to the ground and repeatedly kicked as she lay helplessly, curling herself up into a ball in a desperate bid to save herself from serious injury.

The terrifying attack just yards from her Southampton home also saw her son Cameron punched in the face and one of her Jack Russell dogs Kenko, kicked into the air by the cruel yobs.

The scene of the vicious assault

Mum-of-three Amanda was walking her two dogs with a friend when they met up with her 24-year-old son as he headed home from work at the Royal South Hants Hospital on Tuesday night.

The three were walking along St James Road, in Shirley, when they saw three men coming towards them playing loud music.

Cameron stopped and turned round to wait for his mum to catch up with him, when suddenly he was hit in the face from behind.

As he staggered to get his balance the man then kicked one of their dogs flying into the air, while another of the males grabbed Amanda’s phone from her hand.

As she struggled to keep hold of it and screamed for help, the third man hit her in the back with such force that she fell to the ground, where the two thugs repeatedly kicked her.

Amanda, an accountant at the University of Southampton, who was left with three fractured ribs and a swollen ankle, said: “It was all so unbelievable that they would just attack us like that, without saying a word.

“This is the type of thing that happens on the television, not to real people.

“We just can’t help thinking why did they do this? There was just no reason and that’s what is most worrying, that they can just do this to anyone without any provocation.

“They are cowards who attacked a middle aged woman, someone who had his back to them and a dog.

“I just don’t want to be left alone at the moment because it has totally shocked me.”

As residents living on the street started to come out of their homes to help to the relief of Amanda, the trio fled but Cameron, determined not to let them get away, went after them and was able to tell police where they were heading.

Cameron added: “I’m not a violent person but when I saw them kicking my mum I just saw red. I wasn’t going to let them get away with it.

“It’s not so much that they attacked my mum, it’s that they would attack any woman and our dog. They just didn’t care what they were doing and they showed no remorse.”

Police arrested two males on Tuesday evening, a 15-year-old boy from Southampton who was last night still in custody and a 21-year-old from Southampton who has since been released with no further action to be taken against him.

Anyone with information is asked to call 101.