CRUEL street robbers attacked a mother and shook her two-year-old son.
The 33-year-old victim was pushing her son in a pram along Nabcroft Lane in Crosland Moor when the thugs struck.
One grabbed her from behind and she let go of the pram in shock. Two others in the gang grabbed the pram to stop it rolling away.
The fourth attacker grabbed the mother's arm and she screamed.
But one of the men then picked her son from the pram and began to shake him.
One of his accomplices told him not to shake the toddler too hard and the thug shouted at the mother: "How much do you love your son?"
She begged him not to hurt the child and the boy began to cry and kick his legs. The attacker dropped the boy and he was picked up again by one of the other men.
The mother told the men to take her bag, which was strung across the pram. One of the attackers then slapped her across the face three times.
One of the gang then answered his mobile phone and walked away. The three others followed. They did not steal the bag.
The boy was unhurt, but his mother suffered a bruised right cheek and arm, along with pain around her wrists.
The attack happened on Wednesday, April 28, shortly after 11am, but police have only released details.
Pc Dave McSweeney, of Huddersfield police, said: "This was an appalling crime. The violence was totally unnecessary. To treat a child in this way was disgraceful, not to mention the mother's trauma."
The gang leader was white, aged 30 to 35 and 5ft 8in. He had receding hair and a one-inch scar just above the right side of his lip.
Another was also white, in his mid-20s, 5ft 2in tall and stocky, with gelled, blond, short, spiky hair. He wore a white sports jacket with a blue stripe across it and the Ellesse logo.
A third man was Asian, about 22 and 5ft 6in, with short, straight, black hair and a goatee beard. He wore a silver bangle on his right wrist and a short grey zip-up jacket along with black trainers.
The fourth man was white.
Phone Pc Steve Simms on 01484 436876.
