Most race attack victims `are white': The Eastender

IN WHAT she describes as a racially motivated attack, Rose Woolf, 75, was mugged nine months ago near her home in Stepney Green, east London. "As I was walking along there were two Asian boys about 14 or 15 a bit ahead of me. Suddenly they stopped as if they were picking something up and then spun around, grabbed my bag and ran off.

I lost some money, a purse, an umbrella and a rail ticket. If I had been an Asian woman of my age I don't think they would have done it.

There is quite a lot of racial tension around here. I'm not a racist and I know white boys also do bad things but most of the things [attacks] you read about in the East London Advertiser every week seem to be by black people and Asians. I heard the same thing happened to an older lady who broke her collar bone. If I see a few boys around I get a bit nervous. I wear a coat with pockets now to carry things in."

Mrs Woolf added: "It really shook me up. I was lucky I wasn't hurt but it still took me a long time to get over it. Even the other day there was an Asian boy in front of me who kept turning around and looking at me. I wondered if he was waiting for me so he could take my bag."