The mother of a young woman who was knocked unconscious by a violent asylum seeker after she rejected his advances outside a nightclub has urged the police to find him. 

Helen O’Brien could be heard gasping aloud in court as the footage of her daughter, Cleo Lake, who was 20 years old at the time of the incident, being punched and knocked out by Abdoela Berhan, an Eritrean national, was played.

Berhan, 35, was outside a nightclub in Bournemouth when he approached Miss Lake, now 21, and her two friends, but after they rejected him, he grew violent and attacked Miss Lake.

He failed to turn up for court but was found guilty of the assault, just a week after he was convicted of attacking a Subway worker, and remains on the run, with police saying only that ‘enquiries are ongoing’.

Magistrates issued a warrant for his arrest, and the migrant, whose address was given as the taxpayer-funded Britannia migrant hotel, is now facing time in prison. 

Ms O’Brien said it was frightening that Berhan was still roaming the streets despite having three arrest warrants out for him. 

And she also criticised the government for allowing the Eritrean national into the country in the first place. 

‘It’s scary to think he’s still out there and could be doing this to more people,’ Ms O’Brien said.

Cleo Lake, 21, was knocked out cold by Abdoela Berhan, an Eritrean national, after she and her friends rejected his advances

Berhan, 35, aimed a kick at her and Miss Lake retaliated with a kick of her own, and that is when the hotel migrant pulled his left arm back and swung a fist at her face

Berhan remains at large, with police saying only that ‘enquiries are ongoing’

‘I don’t want any other parent to feel like I did that night.

‘I feel he’s never going to be found, he’s roaming around somewhere doing whatever he pleases.

‘His MO is to be a violent person and he’s not going to stop because he’s not had any consequences for what he’s done.

‘It does make me angry that there’s no background checks on the people like this coming into our country.

‘We all have to have passports, National Insurance, driving licences to check who we are and they have nothing. 

‘We have no idea what he’s capable of. It’s frightening.’

Berhan approached Miss Lake and her friends after they left Cameo nightclub in Bournemouth during the early hours of December 7, 2024, and tried to put his arm around one of them after they left.

Miss Lake, who was 20 years old at the time of the incident, told him to ‘f*** off’ and pushed him away when he made his advancement.

Berhan aimed a kick at her and Miss Lake retaliated with a kick of her own, before the hotel migrant pulled his left arm back and swung a fist at her face.

Miss Lake described the footage as ‘hard to watch’, with it showing Berhan fleeing the scene after the attack, leaving her unconscious on the floor.

This is the moment Miss Lake was knocked unconscious after rejecting Berhan’s advances outside a nightclub in Bournemouth

The footage shows Miss Lake falling to the ground and then not moving before Berhan runs off

When he was later arrested, Berhan claimed he acted in self-defence, but he failed to turn up for court and was found guilty of the assault.

The case came only a week after he was convicted of attacking a Subway worker in another violent incident caught on CCTV, which saw him assault the staff member after being asked to leave.

Berhan then faced a third trial for criminal damage to a police cell, in which he was also found guilty in his absence.

Despite there being three separate warrants out for his arrest, Berhan remains at large, with police saying only that ‘enquiries are ongoing’.

Miss Lake, who suffered a broken nose in the attack, said it’s ‘really frustrating’ that he still hasn’t been caught.

The waitress and bartender said: ‘I know how slow the police are with things, it doesn’t feel like they are trying very hard.

‘I don’t know if he will end up getting what he deserves. And it’s quite scary knowing he’s probably still out there, maybe still in the area.’

Her mother said she thought he had disappeared and police will never find him.

The incident happened in the early hours of December 7, 2024.

Miss Lake and her friends had been to the Cameo nightclub and were outside eating food when Berhan approached them.

She told Poole Magistrates’ Court: ‘He tried to sit down with us, I got uncomfortable because none of us knew who he was, it was dark and there was no one else around.

‘I told him to f*** off and he didn’t like it.

‘We were arguing, swearing at each other and he got rather close so I shoved him back. 

‘He turned around and kicked me, but missed, then I kicked him.’

Miss Lake sustained a black eye and a broken nose from the attack, which she says left her frightened to go out 

Miss Lake (pictured) said it’s ‘really frustrating’ that he still hasn’t been caught and it’s ‘scary knowing he’s probably still out there’

Berhan then delivered his ‘forceful’ punch, which left Miss Lake unconscious for around five minutes.

Miss Lake was taken to hospital by ambulance but went home after waiting four hours to be seen.

When she later went to the GP about fixing her crooked nose, they said it had definitely been broken in the assault.

Miss Lake said: ‘After I didn’t go out for a while. I got quite a bit of bad anxiety around men, I just felt really uncomfortable around them.

‘Even now, a year and a half later, I won’t go out clubbing unless there’s a lot of us or someone’s boyfriend is there, for protection. 

‘Because I have the thought that something bad will kick off.’

Berhan told police after his arrest that he didn’t do it with any intention of assaulting her and it was a reaction to being pushed.

He said he saw her stumble, and he walked off.

Judge Orla Austin said she was satisfied Berhan was guilty of assault and made a warrant for his arrest.

She added: ‘Prison is very much in the forefront of my mind’.