A mum-of-two was knocked unconscious in a wooded area in one area of Wishaw while walking her dog in broad daylight.
Jody Mccrae, 31, was subjected to a frightening ordeal in Coltness while out with her dog King on Wednesday, November 30 when she realised she was being followed by a man.
She said: “I noticed a guy was following me. At first I thought it was someone else walking their dog, then I noticed there was no dog so I started picking up the pace.
“I’d text my cousin at 11.06am asking her to call me so that I could stay on the phone to her until I got home.
“But she never phoned, she was on the phone to her mum at that point so couldn’t phone right away.
“It happened just after I text her.
“When I started walking fast, so did he.
“Then all of a sudden I just felt a big thud to the back of my head.
“I woke up with passers-by around me.
“The police were phoned and an ambulance was called.”
The alleged incident is still a bit of a blur to Jody.
She left home at around 10.30am and thinks that it was around 12.15pm when she was in the ambulance.
She added: “It was someone else who came out to walk their dog that saw me lying and came and put a jacket over me.
“She tried to rally me round a bit, but I didn’t really know where I was.
“My dog King is protective and came and put his two paws on me when the woman came to help. He stayed with me.”
Jody says that she has no idea what happened after she was hit, or if King fended off the attacker.
She sustained injuries to her neck, her back and her ribs.
She reckons that the person who attacked her was around about the same age and of medium build.
He was wearing a hat that was pulled down to hide his eyes.
Jody went on: “I’ve not been back out with my dog since, I won’t even go round about the streets with him now.
“I’ve got two young kids and I’m just glad they weren’t there when it happened.
“There are three entrances into the area and I came in at the bottom and walked up to the top, he came in from the top end.”
Jody’s cousin did call after reading her message but by that time she was in the ambulance and her phone was answered by a paramedic.
She was taken to University Hospital Wishaw but released later that night.
Jody says that her confidence is shattered and she hopes that the police can quickly find the assailant.
She added: “The police came out the following day and took a statement.
“They said they’d checked the CCTV camera but it hadn’t picked up anything.
“They were going to check another camera but I’ve not heard back from them.”
Inspector Alan Mulholland, from Wishaw Police Office, said: “We have received a report of an alleged assault and we are currently investigating.
“We are keen for anyone with information to come forward.
“I would like to assure members of the public that this appears to be an isolated incident.”
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