Leader: Help find attacker

Nov 7 2009 by simon halewood, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

IT IS the stuff of nightmares. A teenage girl attacked as she walked near her school on the way to a local shop.

And worse still, stabbed with a syringe in what police say was a motiveless attack.

In today’s society where drugs are an all too obvious part of everyday life for many, finding a discarded syringe still happens.

But for a syringe to be used to attack a schoolgirl is chilling. Now the victim and her family have what will seem to them an endless three month wait to discover if that one single act of mindless violence has left her with a life-threatening condition.

The teenager was taken to hospital where she has had to have tests for the kind of illnesses that a contaminated syringe could leave her with – and those include HIV.

Thankfully, police say that this was an unusual attack and that the teenager was able to give them a good description of the man who struck her with a needle as he ran past her.

If you were in the Towngate area of Newsome on Tuesday morning between 11am and 11.30am then you might be able to help.

And the description of the man given by the victim could be the key to finding him for it included a distinctive tattoo on the attacker’s left arm.

This may have been an isolated incident but it is one nonetheless which could have long term repercussions for the victim.

The man involved needs to be caught and dealt with and sooner rather than later. If you can help, call police.