Two Brits among tourists involved in mass assault at Milan NYE – as anger grows over Cologne-style attacks

Two young Britons are alleged to have been involved in a series of graphic sexual assaults against tourists on New Year’s Eve in Milan.

The British couple are said to have been with six young Belgian students when they were allegedly attacked by a gang of young men.

Italian police are investigating claims by the couple and students that they were surrounded and groped by dozens of men.

The students had gathered to watch the fireworks in Piazza del Duomo, outside Milan’s cathedral, where men wearing balaclavas were filmed shooting fireworks into the crowd.

They said they felt unsafe and tried to leave, but were suddenly confronted by a gang of thirty to forty men shouting ‘vaffanculo Italia’ (f*** you Italy) ‘polizia di merda’ (‘s*** police’ ) shouted.

“Then we were touched on our bodies, on our clothes and some of us, including myself, in our clothes,” one of the students, Laura, told Belgian media.

‘Three out of four girls have been sexually abused. A friend had her breasts groped and her buttocks touched. (The men) put their hands down my pants. It went very far.’

Belgian outlet Sudinfo reports that the group was accompanied by an English man and woman who joined them in filing a formal complaint.

The story is reminiscent of the horrific mass attacks in Cologne on New Year’s Eve 2015-2016, when hundreds of women were sexually assaulted, harassed and robbed during festivities near the city’s central station and iconic cathedral.

New Year’s Eve images from the Piazza del Duomo show chaotic scenes

The group of students watched the fireworks in the Piazza del Duomo outside Milan Cathedral, where men wearing balaclavas were filmed causing chaotic scenes by shooting fireworks into the crowd on the same evening.

Belgian outlet Sudinfo reported on Friday that the two British nationals, ‘a girl and her boyfriend’, met the six young travelers from Liège in Milan on the afternoon of December 31.

They then reportedly decided to stay together and traveled to the Piazza del Duomo to ring in the new year.

The students claimed they were attacked by a group of men between the ages of 20 and 40.

“The boys tried to defend us, but they couldn’t do anything,” says twenty-year-old Laura.

“There were so many people around us that we couldn’t move.”

After witnessing the alleged attacks, the British couple “then went to the police and filed a complaint.”

Milan prosecutors have since opened an investigation into allegations that the young Belgians were sexually abused by men identified only as being from North Africa, according to Italian news agency ANSA. reports.

‘Three out of four girls have been sexually abused. A friend had her breasts groped and her buttocks touched. (The men) put their hands down my pants. It went very far,” Laura (photo) told Belgian broadcaster RTL

But Laura claimed that when she and her friends went to the local police to report the incident, they were told ‘it would be useless’ before being turned away.

Investigators will now try to understand whether the British victims were attacked by the same people or if the attacks took place at a different time, Fanpage reports.

Laura, who has since received psychological counseling about her ordeal in a hospital in Belgium, said she wanted to speak out to prevent similar attacks from happening to other young women.

She told RTL: ‘I can’t let this happen like this. I thought it only happened in movies. I can’t keep quiet.’

Investigators now believe the testimony is “detailed and credible.” Sudinfo.

France advises reporting sexual harassment by telephone or to the police at a station.

The attack has been compared to scenes from New Year’s Eve in the German city of Cologne in late 2015, when women reported being sexually assaulted and harassed during celebrations near the cathedral.

The situation caused particular outrage after Cologne police insisted there had been no significant problems before the true scale of the attacks was revealed in local media reports.

More than 1,200 criminal complaints were filed, including more than 500 allegations of sexual assault.

The attacks in Germany were reportedly carried out by large groups of men described as predominantly of North African and Arab descent.