A woman has been left with horrific injuries after being assaulted by a man who groped her at Notting Hill Carnival.
Mary Brandon uploaded a photograph of her injures to Facebook after the attack on Monday.
Metropolitan
Police have launched an investigation into the incident which, the
22-year-old said, has made her think twice about how to respond if she
is attacked again.
Mary
Brandon was assaulted at Notting Hill Carnival after telling a man to
stop groping her. She uploaded a photograph her injuries to Facebook
(left) after the attack
The
young woman said the man did not stop touching her despite her telling
him to at the Caribbean festival in west London on Monday.
Posting a photograph of her battered and bruised eye socket on Facebook, she wrote:
'I’m not normally one for over sharing on Facebook but I feel a rant coming!
'At Notting Hill Carnival yesterday a man in the crowd grabbed my a**e.
'When
I told him not to he did it again. I pushed him away, exercising my
right to tell a man to stop touching my body without my permission, so
he took a swing at me and punched me in the face.
'Carnival is
supposed to be about community and good vibes. I wanted to have a good
time but instead I spent nine hours in A&E because of this coward.
'A
woman should be able to leave the house without fear of being sexually
assaulted. And she should be able to defend herself without being put in
hospital.
'The
saddest thing about this for me was discussing with my friends
afterwards whether in future it’s best not to do anything at all.
'Maybe it’d be safer to just ignore it when someone invades your space and body.
'But
I can honestly say I will always stand up to someone who thinks they
can get away with this behaviour and I’d take a punch again from this
looser or any other looser (sic) who thinks it’s OK to treat women like
this.
If you think it is OK then don’t come to carnival next year.
'You’re
not welcome there or anywhere in our society. Bog off! On the plus side
big up to everyone that helped me out who were all amazing!
'Channel
One sound system for getting a nurse and doctor there asap, all the NHS
staff who are INCREDIBLE under pressure at carnival and especially
Becky and Jess for looking after me.'
Metropolitan Police are investigating the incident.
A
spokesman said: 'We can confirm we are investigating an allegation of
indecent assault and GBH on a 22 year old woman in the vicinity of
Westbourne Park Road at 17:30 on Monday, 25 August 2014.
'Detectives are investigating. There have been no arrests at this time.'
'We would appeal to anyone with any information to contact the Post Carnival Investigations Team.
Earlier it was revealed violent crime at the Carnival had increased since last year.
In a statement, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, MPS Commissioner, said:
'Although
early indications are that reported crime is down at this year's
Notting Hill Carnival, I am concerned by the number of stabbings over
the weekend.
'Stabbings
are up on last year, and in some cases these are just centimetres from
being a murder. Each will be thoroughly investigated and we will do
everything possible to ensure those who brought trouble to Carnival are
placed before the courts.
'Our
proactive operations in the days leading up to Carnival and the weekend
itself were a great success and meant we were able to stop many crimes
before they happened.
'Two
of my officers were injured during an arrest yesterday and this shows
the risks they must take. I would like to thank all the officers and
support staff for their hard work in the most difficult of weather
conditions.'
Eight
people were arrested for grievous bodily harm while four sexual
offences arrests were made over the weekend, according to early police
figures.
- Anyone with information about the attack is urged to phone the Post Carnival Investigations Team on 0208 246 0076
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