A British Muslim woman was allegedly assaulted by a group of women who ripped off her hijab in a "racist" attack as she went to collect her children from school in London.

The young mother was walking to a private Islamic primary school in the south London neighborhood of Croydon on Thursday when she was accosted by a number of women, who allegedly started shouting abuse at her, the London Evening Standard reported.

The women allegedly asked her if she was hot in the headscarf, and then proceeded to pull the hijab off and beat her.

"They pulled my headscarf off and started punching and kicking me. One was dragging my head down while the others were hitting me. They were being so racist and using derogatory terms," the mother, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Standard.

The attackers stopped after another parent intervened, police said. Police arrested two suspects, aged 18 and 35, and are continuing to investigate the incident.

About 40 percent of British adults have a negative impression of Muslims, a poll examining northern European attitudes toward minorities released on Friday showed.

In comparison, only seven percent of the British harbor similar sentiments against Jews, the YouGov poll showed.

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