A mum from Swansea, Natalie Arthurs, who was attacked with a broken glass in a bar bathroom in November 2022 has said she still gets “flashbacks and nightmares”. Ms Arthurs, who was out for the day with her friend on Beaujolais Day, was attacked in Peppermint in the city centre. After almost four hours of surgery on her face, she was finally able to see her six-year-old daughter Skyla, who was “tearful and scared” at seeing her mother’s injuries. More than a year later, Emily Williams was jailed for five years for the assault.
Ms Arthurs has now called for drinks to be served in plastic cups and has teamed up with former Leeds Rhinos rugby league academy player, Matthew Syron, who was also glassed. Mr Syron remains unable to see after he was attacked by a stranger while visiting Leeds from Australia. He called glass “a deadly weapon that needs to go”.
Ms Arthurs has experienced “many different emotions” but is trying to move on: “I feel like if I hold onto the anger, I’m the only one who is going to suffer. I’d rather be happy and positive and try to move on with my life.” However, she says she has lost her independence and does not feel safe working alone as a cleaner in “big buildings full of people” she does not know. She has also had to leave her role as an Army reservist.
Ms Arthurs is backing a petition set up by another victim of a glass attack calling for bars and pubs to serve drinks in plastic cups late at night. Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, said the hospitality industry has done a lot of work around the safety of serving drinks and assessing risk but more needs to be done to create a safer environment
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More