Man awarded for stopping attack on young woman

Friday, 9 December 2016 16:24

A member of the public has been praised by the Chief Constable for rescuing a young woman who was horrifically attacked.

Last Halloween at 10.30pm Joe Smalley and his partner were about to go to bed when Joe heard a woman’s scream from outside.

Recognising the sound as untypical of Halloween high jinks, Joe opened his curtains and looked out of his bedroom window and saw a man forcibly dragging a young woman into an alleyway.

Quickly grabbing his shoes and a torch, Joe ran outside and down the alleyway where he found a lady’s handbag on the floor, but no sign of either the woman or the man. As the alleyway backed on to a number of garages, Joe decided to search the area.

After some time Joe found the young woman knelt on the ground and obviously distressed. At that moment Joe heard a sound behind him.

As Joe turned around he saw the man from earlier charging towards him with a Stanley knife in hand. The man attempted an overhead slash, which Joe managed to block but was severely cut across the fingers. Joe hit the man across the head, knocking him to the ground. As Joe looked back to check on the woman, the attacker made good his escape.

Recognising Joe’s courageous actions that Halloween night, Greater Manchester Police awarded Joe with a Chief Constable’s Commendation for Bravery.

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