Self defence classes put on after attacks on women

Self defence classes have been organised for women following spate of violent attacks in Birmingham and the Black Country.

Single mother Sanni Aujla said she wanted to organise them in Sutton Coldfield after being worried about her safety since incidents in Oldbury, Halesowen, Wolverhampton, Walsall and Birmingham.

"As a runner I used to go out on my own, and since we've had the recent attacks on women, especially Asian women, I felt quite unsafe," she said.

"I haven't been for a run on my own since."

In September, a Sikh woman was attacked and raped in Oldbury. A second woman was raped in Walsall in October in a separate incident.

West Midlands Police described both as racially aggravated with a 32-year-old man later charged over the Walsall attack.

In a third incident a woman was raped in Halesowen in October and later that month a Sikh woman in Wolverhampton was assaulted, in what police said was a racially aggravated physical assault.

In November, a woman was stabbed at a bus stop near the Bullring Shopping Centre in Birmingham city centre.

She later died in hospital and a man has been remanded in custody.

The five incidents all occurring in the last three months have left women feeling unsafe to go out alone.

Manjit Shergill, a 38-year-old mother who attended a recent class in Sutton Coldfield, said: "I'm learning self-defence so I can pass on the techniques to my family and children, making sure they feel safe going to school, college or work because you can't always be with somebody, you will be on your own sometimes.

Women of all ages have been attending the classes with their children and partners.

Jake, 16, who lives with his single mother said he was concerned by the violence against women.

"Being in a female household, I wouldn't know what to do if anything happens to my mum," he said.

"I think it's a general epidemic – violence against women is really bad now. Something needs to be done about it. "

The classes have been held at Streetly Sports and Community Centre and Walsall Council donated free alarms.

John McNally, founder of the International Taekwondo Council, volunteered his time to lead a recent class.

"I did this to offer some basic self-defence knowledge for people to be able to protect themselves from unscrupulous people on the streets.

"With the knife crime and issues going on in the Midlands, it's so important to learn this. "

His advice to women was to "be alert and prepared".

"Don't keep your hands in your pockets when you're walking down the street or cross your arms or look down to your mobile phone – keep it up in the air so you can see what's going on," he said.

Becky Watson, who lives near to the community centre, said she had created a safety app which had a check-in feature for people to use.

"I created the All Good app because I live alone and I was concerned that if something happened to me it could be a couple of days before somebody found me," she said.

"If you miss a check-in, your emergency contact is alerted so they can check that you're fine," she said.

Meanwhile, Ms Aujla said she hoped to put on another free class in the new year after places for her last class went within 48 hours.

Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.