A fledgling Bermudian community abroad in Nottingham includes active members of an Island gang, according to the mother of a man attacked in the street outside their home on his birthday.

“I guess they like it here because it’s big, but not that big,” the woman said, asking not to be identified for the family’s protection. “It’s small enough that you see Bermudians.

“You see decent ones that speak to you in the supermarket or give you a hug. And you also see these boys.”

The East Midlands city of roughly 730,000 emerged several years ago as a hub for young Bermudian men who left the Island as gangs began targeting those with even tenuous links to their rivals. “[One gang] is out here doing what they feel like they can do,” she said, describing their activities as petty thievery and “a pack of nonsense”.

While many have come to Nottingham, other cities such as Sheffield and Birmingham had become sanctuaries for gang members, the woman said. The numbers of Bermudians who have emigrated to Britain are unknown, and UK social welfare records do not include nationality. In any event, the woman said many gang members fail to qualify for the dole.

Although her son has been cleared of any involvement, she said he was targeted by a number of gang members in Friday’s attack as a reprisal for one of the Island’s fatal shootings.

The woman described how her son noticed a Bermudian woman outside the home who had ties to the gang when he set off for an interview for a course.

“He didn’t pay it any mind. Coming back, they were still there in a car, and they tried to run him over. It reversed at him, and they jumped out and started attacking him. I noticed them on the staircase to get into the apartment. I saw blood and I just snapped and took a golf club. I don’t know who I hit with it.”

The group included gang members, she said, including one she recognised after his hoodie fell back from his face.

Her son managed to fight back but was left with superficial facial injuries, mainly swelling, which were treated at the hospital. The family took their case to Nottingham police, who she said were interested in contacting Bermudian authorities for details on the Island’s gangs.

“I am not playing with these people,” she said. “My life is in jeopardy, but I do have police surveillance. But I can’t duck a bullet.”