Woman injured in ‘racially aggravated’ violent attack in Sheffield

A woman has been left “traumatised” after suffering injuries in an alleged racially aggravated attack in Sheffield.

The incident happened last Friday just after 7.30pm at Cathedral tram station in the city centre.

The victim suffered minor injuries in the incident and was treated at the Northern General Hospital.

The 21-year-old victim, who did not want to be named, said: “He approached and attacked me, verbally abused me and used racial slurs.

“He spat at me five or six times and crushed me with a shoulder bag which he had with him during the incident. I fought back but I have nail extensions so I broke four nails and bled as I punched him.”

A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “At 7.41pm on Friday 3 May we responded to reports of a racially aggravated assault.

“An unknown man is reported to have racially abused a 21-year-old woman at Cathedral tram station in Sheffield city centre.”

The victim said the incident has impacted her mental health and she needs to see her therapist and psychiatrist.

She said: “Because I have severe depression, I had a panic attack after this incident.

“There were people standing around me, but no one gave me any help, everyone closed their eyes.

“I was traumatized by this horrific experience but was not offered any support afterwards.”

She said: “Now I’m going to avoid going out at night and going out alone, if it’s happening to someone else, I don’t recommend fighting back if you’re a single girl.”

A total of 34 incidents in the same area in March were reported to South Yorkshire Police, seven of which were related to anti-social behaviour, according to UK Police statistics.

According to South Yorkshire Police’s website, 4,366 cases of hate crime were reported last year, with racially motivated crimes accounting for 66% of all recorded hate crimes.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact police on 101 quoting incident number 914 of 3 May 2024.