This is the gang of ‘wild animals’ accused of beating a man to death for speaking Polish just moments before deadly attack

THIS is the teenage gang accused of battering an ­innocent man to death for speaking Polish —  minutes before  they turned on him “like a pack of wild animals”.

Cops suspect some youngsters from the smirking mob of 20 school-aged boys and girls set upon 40-year-old  Arek Jozwik as he ate  a pizza in a town’s shopping arcade.

Locals say they began kicking him after hearing him speak in his native tongue and were “spoiling for a fight”.  An angry mum took the snap about ten minutes before the row so she could report the teens for anti-social behaviour as they allegedly jeered and swore at passers-by.

Innocent victim… Arek Jozwik was killed after speaking Polish

He was bleeding from his ear. The blood was very thick. Someone checked on him to see if he was OK, but he wasn’t responding.

Local who witnessed attack

One local said they thought the bike-riding youths were the same group who surrounded Pole Arek.

He said: “They were like wild animals the way they descended on him in a pack.

“Some of the kids were punching this guy. He was holding one of them and about five or six kept hitting him from every angle. They were swearing, shouting, ‘You b*****d’ like they owned the place. It was terrifying.

“He was bleeding from his ear. The blood was very thick. Someone checked on him to see if he was OK, but he wasn’t responding.”

The snap of the teens emerged as a pal of Arek revealed he had popped out for food after helping a friend decorate in Harlow, Essex, on Saturday.

The mate said: “The idea that youngsters are suspected of the attack is just unbelievable.

“If you look at the picture they’re all children. They just look like any other school pupils out on their bikes during the school holidays. Arek was a quiet man.  I don’t think he would have been seeking any trouble.

“He hadn’t even been out drinking, he had been helping his friend paint a room.”

Cops are investigating claims that five lads aged 15 and one of 16 pounced on the factory worker in a suspected hate crime.

Locals have told how gangs could be seen hanging around the Stow shopping street every night waiting to “bait” potential targets.

Tory MP for Harlow Robert Halfon yesterday called for the killers to be locked up and demanded action to stop further tragedies. He said: “People  talk about how much money the police have, but the wider question is why are these kids roaming the streets at night?

“It’s a question that goes back to how they did at school and their family situation. I’m not making excuses for them, I hope they get banged up. But why aren’t they at home with their families?”

He added: “This is all about what the PM has been saying, building a Britain that works for everyone. Those kids were not born violent so we have to look  right at the beginning. This is what our life chances agenda is  about.”

Poland’s deputy PM Mateusz Morawiecki added his sympathies as he visited the UK.