BATTERED ..BECAUSE I'M FROM ENGLAND; Lucy, 22, left in pool of blood.

Byline: BY MAGGIE BARRY

A YOUNG woman had her face shattered in an unprovoked anti-English assault.

Seconds before she was smashed in the face Lucy Newman said she heard her attacker say "Get back to England".

The next minute, Lucy was lying in a pool of blood as the man calmly walked away.

Now the 22-year-old, who was to start as a nursery nurse, faces an anxious wait to see if she has any permanent eye damage.

She was punched so hard surgeons have warned her she may need to have reconstructive surgery.

Lucy said: "The swelling is coming down every day, but I need to go back to the maxillofacial surgeon to see if I need surgery.

"I have a fractured cheekbone, but he couldn't tell how big the fracture was with all the swelling and whether it will leave a mark on my face."

Lucy, originally from Cheltenham, has lived for 18 years in Gourdon, near Inverbervie, Aberdeenshire. She has developed a Scottish accent with an English twang.

She was on her way home from a club with a friend early on Saturday, in Union Street, Aberdeen, when the callous thug struck.

She said: "We noticed these two older guys alongside us, but we ignored them.

"We carried on walking and then heard them saying something about the English. I do have a twang with some things I say.

"He shouted something like 'Get back to England'. I turned round not thinking he was speaking to me and he was right in my face.

"I didn't even get a chance to look at him properly and he just punched me in the face and walked off."

Grampian Police have appealed for a man who came to Lucy's aid and chased the men, to come forward and help in the investigation.

CAPTION(S):

BEAUTY Lucy before attack; BRUTAL Lucy's face was left in a mess by thug