Traveller girl, 13, ended up 'hysterical' in Grimsby after being herded onto train by police in Manchester

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A mother has described how her daughter was left crying and 'hysterical' after police forced her and other young people from the traveller community onto trains heading out of Manchester without knowing the destination.

The girl, aged 13, and her 15-year-old brother were among scores of youngsters who were herded onto trains at Victoria railway station as part of a police 'dispersal order' designed to prevent trouble in the city centre.

Greater Manchester Police has defended the tactic in the face of stinging criticism from parents of some of the children involved.

Today (Sunday) another parent from the traveller community described how the incident had left her 13-year-old daughter traumatised after she and her sibling ended up in Grimsby. READ MORE: Call for investigation after Gypsy and Traveller children 'blocked from Christmas markets and forced onto trains out of Manchester' The mother, who declined to be named, said her daughter was 'hysterical' when she called from the railway station as she was being escorted onto the train with others.