A brave young man rushed to help a teenager as three thugs attempted to grab her on a railway bridge and threatened to throw her off it.

Aiden Beaney, 19, was walking his dogs with his dad and sister when he heard shouting near Canterbury East station.

As they walked along Oxford Road, they realised the screams were coming from an alleyway which leads over the railway line via a bridge.

Mr Beaney said: “At first we thought it was a couple arguing but then you could hear a girl saying, ‘I’m 17, leave me alone’.

“Then we heard a deep voice saying, ‘allow it, allow it’.”

The family soon realised something was wrong and turned around to investigate.

But as they approached the alley, a sobbing teenager rushed out.

“There were three guys standing on the bridge so we knew something wasn’t right,” Mr Beaney added.

“So I ran to the girl and asked her if everything was all right, but she was sobbing to the point where she couldn’t breathe.”

The girl told Mr Beaney how she had asked the three men to leave her alone and how they tried grabbing her by the shoulders to pull her back into the alleyway.

The yobs soon fled the scene once they saw Mr Beaney comforting the teenager.

Police have confirmed they are investigating the incident.

A spokesman said: "Kent Police were contacted at 6.25pm on Wednesday, December 9, following a report that a teenage girl had been assaulted near Station Road East, Canterbury.

"As she crossed the bridge leading towards Oxford Road, three men reportedly threatened to throw her from the bridge and spat at her."

An investigation is ongoing and anyone with any information is asked to call Kent Police on 01843 222289, quoting reference 46/218096/20 or all Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555 111 or using the anonymous online form at crimestoppers-uk.org.

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