The woman explained how she still remembers the event clearly; they were dressed as babies, with their carnival costume complete with space buns, painted freckles, and pajamas.

“All of a sudden, these tattooed guys from Valletta came up to us, and started taunting us, calling us names, tugging on our costumes, pulling our hair, and trying to provoke us into a fight.”

Upon trying to defend themselves, the situation became even more heated, eventually leading to one of the guys punching her friend in the eye.

“My friend left with a black eye just because she tried to stand up for me after one of the guys pushed me and I pushed him back,” she said.

It was at this moment that the victim ended up without her pants from the waist down, leaving her in her underwear in the middle of Hastings Garden.

“They removed my pajama pants – I still remember they were pink – and I ended up in my underwear in the middle of a garden in February,” she said. 

The woman contacted Lovin Malta after revealing that a teenager suffered a broken leg after being attacked by Valletta thugs just last week – with two 16-year-olds arrested after the unprovoked assault.

“It was always like this – Valletta was always unsafe. It’s not something new, it’s been like this for years,” she said.

“I’m still scared to go to Hastings to this day, and I wouldn’t even go into Valletta for a dinner or an event,” she said, highlighting how much the whole ordeal had traumatised her.

“I don’t even dream of sending my own child to Valletta for a night out in 15 years’ time. I feel bad because teenagers really don’t have anywhere to go, but Valletta definitely isn’t safe.”

Have you ever encountered these “Valletta thugs”? Sound off in the comments below