Woman who lost baby in supermarket assault wore headscarf says witness

The Times reports that the woman who lost her baby in a racially aggravated attack outside a Co-op store in Milton Keynes is Muslim.

Thames Valley Police yesterday reported the incident took place on 6 August in Bletchley, Milton Keynes.

A 34 year old pregnant woman was racially abused and “kicked to the ground” outside a Co-op store by a man who followed her to her car. The woman was taken to Milton Keynes general hospital but lost her baby.

The paper reports the comments of a female witness who said the victim “had a headscarf on — not the full veil. She wasn’t heavily pregnant.”

Marian Scott, 56, told the paper she saw a large crowd gather around the victim, who was on her back in the car park.

“It was in the early evening. She was lying on the floor but screaming. A man was against the wall,” she said.

A 40 year old male is also believed to have been hit “over the head with a bottle and bag of ice.”

Another witness, Visakan Nathan, said: “I heard the noise of a lady screaming. She was screaming ‘help me, help me’. This guy was attacking the lady — he was very aggressive. He was kicking and pushing her.”

“Another guy — a black man — tried to intervene and the attacker started attacking him as well. He also attacked a third person — a white male, I think,” he added.

Thames Valley police yesterday released an image of a man they would like to speak to in connection with the incident.

PC Richard Armitage, of Milton Keynes police, said: “This racially aggravated assault had absolutely devastating consequences for the victim, who lost her baby as a result of the attack.”

The Times further notes that the alleged racist assault took place near a mosque which has previously been targeted by the far right British National Party.