A festival goer that headed to BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend has shared a terrifying ordeal that saw a violent brute break her jaw in an unprovoked attack.
Keris Bennie, 28, was headed out of the event which was held at Camperdown Park in Dundee shortly before midnight on Sunday when she saw a male being verbally and physically abusive to his partner. The Fife mum tried to step in and stop the attack but the thug responded by throwing a massive punch that shattered her jaw.
She says that due to the attack she will have to have a metal plate placed in her face and that she may never regain the full feeling in her mouth due to suffering from a severed nerve. Keris added that she will now be on a liquid food diet for weeks.
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Recalling the traumatic incident, Keris told the Daily Record : "The guy was being really horrible to his girlfriend - grabbing her, screaming at her and dragging her about. She was crying, so I ran over and said, 'Woah, what's going on here?'
"He started swearing and shouting at me. I put my hand up to his chest and then he took a step back and swung a massive punch."
Keris went home in a state of shock, but as her jaw began to swell up, she went to a local minor injuries unit - which immediately referred her to Ninewells Hospital. She was kept in overnight after medics identified the fracture.
An X-ray of her injury shows a huge crack separating her lower jaw from the rest of her face. She had surgery on Tuesday to install a plate and pins that will hold the break in place.
Keris has now said the attack has made her reconsider stepping in to help others in future.
She added: "I didn't think he would react like that, especially in public. He was an absolute animal.
"I only wanted to help because I thought his girlfriend was in trouble, but I've been left with a broken jaw and having to have surgery.
"I'm on a soft diet for six weeks, mashed potatoes and soup, and I'm on lots of painkillers. This is why people don't get involved and turn the other cheek.
"It makes you think about why some people turn a blind eye to this sort of thing. I don't regret stepping in, but it has put me off doing it again."
Keris says her attacker was in his 20s, around 5ft 10ins tall and with dirty blonde hair. He was wearing either a white or light blue t-shirt.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “On Tuesday, 30 May, police received a report of an assault that took place on Sunday, 28 May at The Big Weekend at Camperdown Park, Dundee. Enquires are at an early stage to establish the circumstances surrounding this incident.”
Police made a total of four arrests at Big Weekend over the course of three days. Four people aged between 23 and 30 were charged with a variety of offences ranging from assault and breach of the peace to alleged child neglect.
The BBC declined to comment.
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