Would you fight, take flight or wait for the Police?

Whilst going 2 the local shops, my friend & I were set upon by a gang of thugs (16thugs between 14&18yrs old). There was no reasoning with them, they saw reasoning as a weakness. Had there been just a few of them we would have slapped them around a bit & sent them on their way, but there was too many of them & they were alcohol/drug fuelled. We didn't want them to follow us home & we didn't want to get done for half killing the little s, so we got the shop keeper to call the police & we got them to drop us home. The only problem is the police never caught the instigators, & quite frackly I feel really angry that young men like this can attack women & men & get away with it. I am still wary to go walking my dog in my own area and everyday I am beginning to feel angered that these young men are not dealt with through the judicial system. How should these thugs be taught a lesson in the UK? Has something similar happen to you? & How did it make you feel afterwards?