Boys charged over pensioner attack

Three teenage boys have been charged after a pensioner was left in a critical condition after he was attacked as he returned from a mosque, police said today.

The youths, aged 15, 14 and 12 are also accused of assaulting two men, one in his 40s and another in his 70s, just minutes earlier, in Tooting, south London.

The 15-year-old and 14-year-old are facing a charge of grevious bodily harm with intent in relation to the first attack on the 67-year-old, The 15-year-old is also accused of attempted GBH on two pensioners in Tooting less than a week earlier.

They are all due to appear at Croydon Youth Court today.

The 67-year-old, a retired care worker, is still in hospital in a critical condition after the incident on August 31 in Church Lane, Tooting.

A five-year-old girl who was with him at the time was unhurt.

Another 14 year-old boy was this morning questioned by police about the alleged attack and remains in custody at a south London police station and a third has been bailed pending further inquiries.