Afghan student in hospital after brutal racist attack

An Afghan student of tourism and leisure is still in hospital, paralysed from the neck down, after being savagely beaten in a racist attack.

Three suspects have been arrested and are due to return to a south London police station for further questioning tomorrow (12 October).

The attack took place in the early hours of 16 September in Twickenham, Surrey. Minicab driver Hamidullah Gharwal, 28, of Acton, west London, was dropping off four passengers - three men and a woman.

It was only Gharwal's second night as a taxi driver. It is believed he had taken the job to pay his way through a tourism and leisure course at Ealing Tertiary College in Acton.

The police said: "During the incident we believe that comments referring to the recent tragic events in America were made, but as yet we have not been able to confirm what was said or attribute these comments to either party. An altercation took place and the victim was assaulted and racially abused by the three men in their early twenties. He was hit over the head with a bottle and kicked as he lay on the ground."

He is said to be in "a stable condition" in the high-dependency unit of Charing Cross hospital.