TEEN GIRL BASHED

A 16-YEAR-OLD girl suffered multiple facial fractures after being bashed near a Bendigo nightclub yesterday.The attack happened about 3am as the girl, an employee of the Hyper nightclub in the CBD, was standing with friends on a break a short distance away. The girl works as a bussie - employed to collect glasses and keep bathroom areas clean.Hyper owner Graeme Flinders said he was sickened by the incident. “She was on her break. It must have been some sort of personal vendetta because some bloke has come up and just smashed her in the face,” Mr Flinders said.The incident happened about 30 metres from the club. Hyper bouncers ran to assist the girl and detained the alleged offender before calling paramedics and police. “If it hadn’t been for the club’s staff, this guy could have gotten away,” Mr Flinders said.About 900 people partied at Hyper on New Year’s Eve. Mr Flinders said he was disappointed the event could mar the good behaviour of other revellers.He described the victim as small, and a “damn good worker”. “She was doing the right thing, trying to earn a quid, working New Year’s Eve . . . and she gets smacked in the face,” he said. The incident was too far away to be caught on the club’s security cameras.Sergeant Jamie Ward from Bendigo police said it was believed the girl suffered a fractured nose and jaw in the attack.He said charges had yet to be laid, with investigations continuing. The assault was one of several incidents police attended over New Year’s Eve.Police are seeking witnesses to another assault that happened in Rosalind Park near the rotunda about 12.15am yesterday.Sergeant Ward said one man hit another man.“We haven’t got a lot of detail on the incident, but if there are any witnesses to it, we would ask them to call us.” Police believe the male victim suffered serious eye injuries and is in Melbourne undergoing treatment.Two men were also arrested early yesterday after a car was stolen from Kangaroo Flat. One was released pending further inquiries, while the second alleged offender remained in custody.Sergeant Ward described the behaviour of 26 people who were arrested for alcohol related offences as disappointing.“I think that any time there is a large number of people arrested because of their behaviour, it’s disappointing and I think that to have 26 in custody on any night is disappointing,” he said.Sergeant Ward said that despite the high number, police would always take troubled drunks into custody.“We’d always certainly prefer to take the troublemakers out of play.”