A MUM whose son was attacked in the town centre says she is happy police are taking action.

Cameron Watters, the son of Westhoughton South councillor Anna-Marie Watters, was assaulted in Bradshawgate in the early hours of Saturday December 23.

The 18 year-old was left with a perforated eardrum after receiving a punch, before hitting his head on a metal shutter as he fell.

Cllr Watters had claimed he had been left on the ground for an hour an half without treatment. She later took him to hospital herself.

Cllr Watters believed that police had been present at the time.

Cllr Watters said: “I am just happy that the police are doing something about it and they are taking it seriously because it keeps happening, not just to my son, and something has to change.

“I have spoken to the police and they are trying to find the footage of when the assault happened.

“For about 30 seconds Cameron was still standing up and went to tell a police officer that he had just been punched then 30 seconds later he collapsed.

“I am glad the police are investigating it and they can only say what they know a this particular moment in time, and once they get the CCTV footage and witness statements certain information and the details will change.”

She added that since the incident she has been in contact with the police who have kept her up to date about developments in their investigation.

A GMP spokesman said: “On Saturday 23 December 2017, police were called to reports of a man acting drunk and disorderly. Officers attended and a 24-year-old man was arrested under suspicion of being drunk and disorderly.

“Later that day, police received a report that an 18-year-old man had been assaulted earlier that day in Bolton town centre. Enquiries in to the assault are ongoing.”

The assault on Cameron happened after he and his group of friends allegedly saw a man pulling a girl by her hair and tried to intervene, near Allen’s Fried Chicken at 5am. After being punched Cameron was left unconscious on the floor, and according to Cllr Watters, Cameron’s friends then called an ambulance at 5.10am, before calling her.

She described how subsequently rushing towards Royal Bolton Hospital she had then diverted to the town centre after being told that no ambulance had arrived.

Still unaware of the extent of her son’s injuries, at around 6.30am Cllr Watters said she gave up on an ambulance electing to take Cameron, who was drifting in and out of conciousness, to hospital herself.

The North West Ambulance Service said that they were first received a call about the incident at 5.38am.

A NWAS spokesperson said: “We received a call at 5.38am for an 18-year-old male who had been assaulted. On the initial call, the patient was reported as conscious and breathing and due to the other incidents we were dealing with at the time it was not possible to allocate an ambulance immediately.

“At 6.10am it was reported that the patient was drifting in and out of consciousness, following which we re-prioritised the call.

“We received a further call 12 minutes later to confirm that the parent of the patient was on the scene and they would take the patient to hospital. The ambulance was subsequently cancelled.”