A teenager is in a coma in a hospital near Paris after allegedly being attacked by angry residents of a French housing estate in Pierrefitte-sur-Seine.

Police say the 16-year-old was dragged out of this unofficial Roma camp by a dozen locals, who accused him of breaking into a nearby flat.

Christophe Crépin, a police union representative, explained: “They took him to a cellar and beat him up. He ended up in a supermarket trolley in a critical state, in agony.”

Police say the teenager was known to them and had been linked to a number of thefts, break-ins and for driving without a licence, but he had not been charged with any crime.

Eddy Sid, Police Alliance union representative, said: “He’s a juvenile, known to police for burglary and theft. Last week he was in custody for burglary.”

Some 200 people in the camp fled the area after the incident.

French president Francois Hollande said the attack was “unspeakable and unjustifiable,” and that he wanted “everything done” to find the attackers.