Warning to women after Telford mother suffers broken nose in late night attack

Zena Hickman, a 33-year-old hairdresser from Little Dawley, was approached from behind and hauled to the floor while waiting for a taxi home after a night out at the Three Furnaces in Madeley on May 12. She was hauled to the ground and hit her face on the floor, leaving her battered and bloodied.

"I was waiting for a taxi, just on my own," she said. "I'd been out with some girls from work, then met another girl later on. We went to the Furnaces. She went home and I just stayed with people I knew. I've been going there for years.

"I crossed the road and was standing with my legs crossed and with my back facing the Cuckoo Oak. He came at me from behind. He grabbed my arm and pushed me to the floor. He had my arm so I couldn't put my hands out and stop my head hitting the floor. I screamed and he ran off.

"He didn't take a thing. I had my purse and my phone. I don't know if I frightened him off by screaming."

Zena, who is mum to Jessica, seven, suffered a broken nose, for which she will need an operation due to damaged cartilage. She also needed her eyelid glued, which will take six to eight weeks to heal. But it is the mental toll the attack has taken which has had the most impact.

She said: "Normally I'm really confident, but now I'm moving back home. I live on my own with my daughter.

"I've been off work for three weeks.

I suffered with anxiety before this, but I was feeling really good and thought about coming off my medication. But now my doctor has said no, that would be a bad idea."

Zena has issued a warning to women thinking about going out late on their own.

“I would say to women not leave anywhere on your own," she said. "Make sure there are a few of you and you leave together because you don’t know who’s out there.”

Telford DCI Billy Scott said: “In the early hours of May 12 police on patrol came across a woman with a facial injury in Bridgnorth Road near to the Three Furnaces pub.

"It’s believed the woman had been pushed over by an unknown suspect which caused her injuries. All available enquiries have been carried out to identify the suspect, however, based on the information available no-one has been identified. If anyone does have any information that may help we would ask they get in contact with us.”

In a separate incident just after midnight on May 26 police responded to a report a woman had been assaulted following an argument at the BP garage in Parkway. A man got out of a vehicle and attacked the woman knocking her off her feet causing her to fall to the ground. Inquiries are ongoing to locate the suspect.

DCI Scott said: “We do understand some members of the local community may be concerned about these incidents but I would like to reassure local residents that the circumstances are very different and we do not believed they are linked.”