Woman left unconscious after beating (From Darlington and Stockton Times)
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Woman left unconscious after beating
11:20am Friday 5th October 2012 in News
CLUB ATTACK: Gemma Swales and her partner, Paul Briggs
A WOMAN has been attacked near her home by a man wielding a wooden club.
Gemma Swales, 25, was left unconscious after the beating. The mother-of-two was so badly hurt that when partner Paul Briggs, 29, saw her after the incident near their home in the early hours of Sunday, he thought she was dead.
Miss Swales, of Wharton Street, North Skelton, east Cleveland, had four hours of surgery after her jaw was broken in two places.
She also had stitches in a deep wound near her left eye and she fears she may still lose several of her teeth.
She was at home with her sister, Sarah Swales, Mr Briggs and Sarah’s partner, Lee Smith, when the incident happened. The group were celebrating Sarah Briggs’ 30th birthday when Miss Swales was attacked after asking a rowdy group outside their home to quieten down.
She said: “My sister asked if they’d quieten down, but the male hit me with a baseball bat or plank of wood which lifted me off my feet and my head hit the floor and I passed out. My sister ran off for help.”
A Cleveland Police spokeswoman said a 20-year-old woman and 19-year-old man were arrested on suspicion of causing GBH and released on bail.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Constable Matthew Waterfield on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800-555-111.
