A woman has recounted her horror at having her ponytail cut off by a man in a balaclava in a surprise attack at her south London block of flats.
Police are investigating after the 55-year-old woman, who spoke to The Independent under condition of anonymity, said she was set upon by a mystery man as she emptied her bins down the communal rubbish chute on Tuesday evening.
She said she believed the attacker used a switchblade to slash at her beloved braid she had been growing for years before leaping down over a railing and escaping.
The woman, who uses a walking stick, said she was just yards from her front door when she was attacked from behind.
The woman bagged a clip of her hair her cut off during the attack (The Independent)
“He came up behind me, held on to my neck and with one swipe of a blade slashed my braid off. It was over in seconds,” she said. “He didn’t say a word to me.
“He was like a magician – he was gone in a flash. I don’t know what he wanted with me. My hair was long in a plait it was the length of my granddaughter.”
The woman said all she could see of the man was his long coat. “I started screaming and he took off. Police said he must have jumped over a railing to get away. He was very tall and all in black,” she said.
“It was scary. I don’t get scared easy but that scared me. I’m not going up to the bin chute again.”
Mallard’s Walk where the attacker struck (The Independent)
The woman said other neighbours had recalled similar disturbing attacks where a man approached lone women from behind to cut their hair.
“He could be getting braver and braver,” she said.
But a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said just one attack had been reported to the force.
“We are aware of social media posts regarding assaults on women in the Sidcup area. We can confirm we responded to a single incident that occurred on Tuesday, 7 January at 8.40pm in Mallard Walk in which a woman reported having her hair cut by a man,” the spokesperson said.
“Please be assured that we are working hard to try and locate a suspect, and local officers have been tasked with high visibility patrols in these areas.”
The woman issued a warning to other south Londoners. “Stay with women and your young girls,” she said.
The bin chute where the victim was attacked (The Independent)
The woman said she was terrified walking to the hospital for an unrelated injury the following day.
“I stood up in the waiting room leaning against the wall so no one could come up behind me,” she said.
If you have any further information, or have been a victim of a similar crime, please contact them by either calling 101, Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online via www.met.police.uk/report – quoting 6616/07Jan.”