A 13-YEAR-OLD girl was attacked by a mob of young thugs who repeatedly kicked and punched her as she lay on the ground.

Patricia Grimes, from Farnworth, is recovering in hospital with a chipped eye socket and fractured ribs.

She now faces the prospect of surgery because the attack also left her with a blood clot on the kidney.

Patricia's devastated mother, Tracy, said: "She has had a scan which shows bad bruising on the right kidney. She keeps passing blood and is bleeding internally.

"Doctors keep testing her but we don't know how long they will keep her in. She might need surgery."

Patricia was attacked just before 10pm on Friday as she cut through a farmer's track near Mount St Josephs School, off Minerva Road in Farnworth.

She had been playing with her older brother and her friends on fields behind the school and had left them to go to a local shop. The attack happened after she left the shop and was trying to find her friends.

Patricia, who goes to Mount St Josephs School, said: "I was walking past the school where there's a ginnel. I walked down to find my friends and a girl came up to me wanting a fight. And as I turned away she punched me in the back of the head, then they all just jumped on me at once. They were just beating me and punching me."

She said the attack went on for around 15 minutes and she did not recognise any of the group, which was made up of girls and boys aged 13 to 18.

The attackers, many of whom were drinking from bottles of cider and wine, only stopped and fled when they heard approaching police sirens.

Patricia managed to pick herself up and get to the house of a friend, who took her straight to her mum.

The teenager did not go to hospital that night but was taken to casualty the next day after she had a panic attack because she was in so much pain.

Miss Grimes, aged 35, who has been at her daughter's bedside since the attack, said: "She would not give in and cry and they just kept hitting her and punching her.

"When I saw the state she was in I felt sick because she's only small and dainty. I am really angry. They're animals."

She said that Patricia had not been able to sleep since the attack and was scared that it would happen again.

Pauline Urmston, aged 20, who was working in the nearby One Stop shop on the night of the attack, said a local resident had called police after hearing a disturbance.

Miss Urmston also called her manager and the local community beat officer because she was worried about the behaviour of a local gang, who she believes were responsible for the attack.

She said: "I think they were drinking. I went out to have a look what was happening but when they saw the police they disappeared," she said.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police confirmed they were called to Miss Grimes' home and said an investigation into the attack is underway.