THE mother of a St Martins girl injured in an attack last week has reaffirmed her family's a belief that a blade was used.

Sarah Fleet's teenage daughter Cerys was left with injuries to her face and marks on her stomach after she ran home with her husky dog Molly when followed by a figure while out on a walk in Church Lane.

Sarah put pictures of Cerys's injuries on social media and reported the offence to West Mercia Police, but admitted feeling unhappy that the police said no knife had been seen in the attack, leading to an adverse reaction on social media.

"We felt really let down by the reaction online – we feel that Cerys is just being laughed at," she said.

"People are saying that she doesn't know what's going on but there's been an awful lot let left out of Cerys's story.

"One side is we're saying there was a knife involved in it, but the police are saying there wasn't.

"Yes, I get that – she didn't see a knife so they couldn't say a knife was used but they didn't say a sharp object was used.

"She's got marks on her face and tummy with her clothes slashed; there's definitely something sharp that's been used.

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"We as a family are firmly in the belief that a blade has been used.

"Cerys doesn't remember anything of an attack – she didn't even know she'd been cut until she got in through the door and her dad took her hoodie down and it was pouring out blood.

"It seems a lot of adrenaline was masking what was happening.

"Cerys is a very strong animal lover and I think she thought she 'I have to get her out of this situation' and she picked her up and ran her home."

Sarah said it was then that she noticed the marks on Cerys's stomach, and says the nature of the damage to her three layers of clothing could only suggest that a knife or similar item was used.

She added: "We noticed the marks on her tummy when we checked her over – we'd seen her face and the instinct to check everywhere kicked in.

"We checked her over and saw that her hoodie had slash marks and there was a light mark on her tummy – not life threatening and didn't need stitches but it had cut through three tops she was wearing.

"It's not something the dog could have done. The clothes are still with forensics but you could see the damage."

Sarah urged people to come forward with information, specifically regarding the police statement on the presence of a high-sided red van.

She added that Cerys is still coming to terms with the attack and has struggled to go outside since the attack.

You can report any information to West Mercia Police online here, by calling 101 and quoting log number 00636i of March 22 2021.

Alternatively, you can speak anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111.