A 41-year-old mother-of-two who was brutally beaten in broad daylight last week by a well-known criminal has spoken of her terror after her assailant went to ground.
The woman, who does not want to be named, was attacked on the New Lodge Road last Thursday (July 3) as she walked to work around lunchtime. Still bearing the blackened eyes and facial bruising caused in the beating meted out by the man in his 20s, the well-known bar worker said the individual had threatened to harm her after a previous incident. Then, she had called an ambulance for another man after he too was involved in an altercation with him.
“He had hit someone a few weeks ago and I had phoned the ambulance but when he heard I had made the call he told me he was going to get me.
“Then, I was on my way to work on Thursday in broad daylight and when I got out of the car he just started punching me. He punched the life out of me.”
The woman, who lives in the area, says she is now afraid to leave her house knowing that the notorious thug – who has a number of criminal convictions – is on the loose.
“I am terrified. The police are looking for him but they can’t find him. Nothing like this has ever happened me before.”
A PSNI spokesman appealed for information.
“Police are appealing for information following an assault that occurred in the New Lodge Road area of North Belfast on the afternoon of Thursday 3 July.
“At approximately 1.50pm it was reported that a man, aged in his 20s, had assaulted a 41 year old woman. The woman required hospital treatment for her injuries that are not believed to be life threatening.
Anyone with any information about this incident is asked to contact the Case Progression Team in Musgrave Police Station on the non-emergency number 101. Or if someone would prefer to provide information without giving their details, they can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers and speak to them anonymously on 0800 555 111.”