RESIDENTS fear their estate will become a "no-go" area for foreign language students after at least four were attacked by gangs when walking home.

The students, most of them teenagers, were staying with host families in Rose Hill, East Oxford, while studying English in the city.

A 16-year-old Chinese girl had her bag snatched out of her hand at The Oval on August 10, a 16-year-old Russian boy was attacked in Nowell Road on August 16 and on July 28, a 20-year-old Chinese woman was pushed over by three youths and had her bag - which contained a camera, mobile phone and cash - snatched.

On August 17, a 14-year-old Austrian boy was waiting at the bus stop at The Oval when two youths approached him and began kicking and punching him.

They demanded he hand over his valuables and took a bag containing his wallet, digital camera and cash.

Residents believe there were also further incidents that were not reported to the police.

Janet Spiers, of Clinton Close, said she was concerned it would put schools off placing students in Rose Hill.

Mrs Spiers hosted a 16-year-old female Russian student who was attacked and verbally abused along with a friend on several occasions during her stay.

The pair, who were studying at the Oxford English Centre in Banbury Road, were attacked by gangs as they got off buses near shops at The Oval after social evenings with other students in the city centre.

In one incident, the teenager, who came from Moscow, had a glass bottle thrown at her head.

Mrs Spiers said: "She was very scared and very frightened. She went home, and couldn't wait to go. She'd just had enough of it.

"These students come here to learn English and they don't expect to get attacked every time they get off a bus. They need to be protected.

"It's worrying because we are waiting for more students to come and if they keep getting attacked, they won't send them to Rose Hill and that would be a shame, because Rose Hill is a nice place generally."

The mother-of-two, who has been hosting foreign students for five years, said the police should do more to keep the streets safe.

She said: "You see police in the daytime, but at night, when they're really needed, you don't see them as much."

Det Chief Insp Andy Boyd, of Oxford CID, said the attacks were a "concern" but said: "It is important to point out that this handful of crimes is a tiny proportion of the thousands of overseas students who flock to Oxford every summer and have a trouble-free visit."

He added: "Our crime reduction advisors work hard to make sure the language schools are passing on advice on how to stay safe to the students, many of whom are away from home for the first time.

"For the unfortunate few, we want to reassure them our robbery team are investigating these incidents and doing all they can to catch these criminals, who will have marred these young people's summer trips."

A spokesman for the Oxford English Centre, which charges students a minimum of £115 per week to stay with a host family, said he was only aware of one incident involving one of their students and said it was being dealt with by the police.

But he added: "Obviously, we will take appropriate measures if more information comes to light, but as far as I'm aware this was an isolated incident."

Many language schools in Oxford will not allow their foreign students to be housed in certain areas of the city.

The Berlitz Language Centre, in High Street, caters for businessmen and people older than 25 wishing to learn English.

Director Rosalind Richard said they would not house anyone in Blackbird Leys or Rose Hill because their students demanded a high level of accommodation and wished to be near the city centre.

John Hudson, principal at College of International Education, in George Street, said there were certain areas of the city they did not send younger students but added it would be unfair to name them.

Mr Hudson said he always made sure the host house and area were secure and encouraged families to take the foreign students to the school each day.

While at Aspect College Oxford, in Banbury Road, a spokesman said every host family was judged individually but said there were areas of the city they did not consider suitable although she did not want to name them.

Peter Thompson, principal of the Isis Oxford School of English, in Shoe Lane, Oxford, said students were placed with families in close proximity to each other, so they could all be accompanied home by a host leader.

Students were also warned to be careful in Oxford, as in any major city, and to avoid going home alone.