Mum, 53, left in coma after attack near Lancaster home

Friends and family of the victim contacted the Lancaster Guardian after reading about the 73-year-old woman who was left seriously injured after being attacked on the cycle path while walking her dogs on Tuesday morning.

They were concerned that police had not released an appeal for witnesses for the earlier assault.

A family friend said both attacks happened just a few hundred yards apart.

The mum was walking along Windholme on Scale Hall, close to the cycle track, at around 7pm on February 21 when she was attacked.

She was taken to Royal Preston Hospital where she spent four weeks in an induced coma. She also had to have part of her skull removed due to a bleed on the brain.

She is slowly recovering on a high dependency ward and has begun to speak this week. However, she has no memory of the incident.

Police carried out house-to-house enquiries but have not appealed to the public for further help.

"The cause of the injury is under investigation," a police spokesman said.

The spokesman added that it was not possible to say at this stage if the two incidents were linked.

Today, Friday April 8, a 32-year-old man from Heysham was arrested on suspicion of assault in connection with the attack on Tuesday.

Anyone with any information about the incident in Windholme can contact Lancaster police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or at https://crimestoppers-uk.org/