Anger of brick attack victim

As reported in The Citizen (July 31), the 22-year-old local woman was attacked as she made her way along West Park Drive, close to Blackpool's Stanley Park, at around 2.10am on Saturday, July 26.

She had been chatting to her boyfriend on a mobile phone while returning from a party in the Palatine Road area of the resort when she first noticed a man following her.

After losing sight of the man, he came running towards her brandishing a brick and began to smash her about face and head in what has been described as an "extremely violent assault."

Despite an initial "flooding" of more than 100 phone calls from the public Police have admitted that calls were now "dropping off".

But during a press conference held at Blackpool Police Station on Thursday, August 14, the woman -- who wishes to remain anonymous -- spoke of how angry she is over the apparently motiveless attack.

Accompanied by the Detective leading the investigation, DI Colin Fish and her boyfriend, PC Neil Whiteman,the pretty blonde appealed for anybody with further information to come forward before the offender strikes again.

She said: "I feel very angry and I'd like to know what his motive was because, to me at least, there was none.

"I want him to be caught and I want him to pay for what he has done to me.

"The attack was random because I was planning on getting a taxi. Nobody knew that I would be out walking that night.

"If there was some kind of reason for the attack at least I would have a chance at understanding why it happened, but it feels worse because there isn't."

And she told how she doesn't blame the driver of a white Peugot 405 saloon for failing to help her as tried in vain to make it stop shortly after the attack.

"I suppose I don't really blame the people in the Peugot for not stopping for me because they must have been quite frightened themselves.

"But they should have helped me because they could see I was on my own.

"And if somebody out there knows who the person who attacked me is, you need to say something.

"Maybe he thought it would be easier to hurt me than it was. I put up a fight and made quite a lot of noise, so maybe this is the only thing that stopped the attack going further.

"But if he can get away with it once he will do it again and next time it could be much worse.

Speaking during the press conference, DI Fish revealed that police are due to go back to the area of the crime to resume house-to-house enquiries and leaflet campaigns.

DI Fish -- who earlier in the investigation described the case as "the worst I've seen in 30 years of police work" -- also confirmed that police believe the offender to be a local man, possibly the person seen kneeling on grass outside the Blackpool Cricket Club prior to the attack.

He said: "It is my opinion that the offender is likely to be the individual seen kneeling outside the cricket club shortly before the attack.

"He could have been doing something as simple as kneeling down to tie his shoelace but, equally, he could also have been picking up a brick.

"If this individual was not the offender we would like him to come forward.

"The location of the attack and the lack of proximity to the town centre does suggest that this is a local person.

"We have looked previous similar incidents and there is nothing to say that this is a repeat offender, but this is still a very dangerous person.

"Had it not been for the victim's struggle and resistance to attack this could well have been a murder."

The victim, who still bears the scars of the attack -- two long red scars on her forehead and a deep-looking gash above her blood-shot right eye -- had a final message of warning to other young women who are considering walking the streets alone at night.

She said: "Always get a taxi.

"I was only about a mile from my home and nothing like this has happened to me before so I thought I would be OK, but I wasn't.

"At the end of the day you should never put yourself in this type of situation just by thinking everything will be alright."