Community uniting to help victim of attack
AFTER the darkness, comes light. And for Ida Brown, the Gateshead pensioner left black and blue for the sake of her mobility scooter, a reminder that all is not wrong in the world.
Since we revealed how thugs attacked the 79-year-old at her Dunston home, the community has rallied around the pensioner and showered her with support.
Messages flooded in on Thursday evening, with offers including free CCTV for brave Ida, who is also battling leukaemia.
And to date, over £1,800 has been raised after a complete stranger was so moved by her plight that she launched a GoFundMe page.
“There are no words to describe how I felt when I read about what had happened,” admitted Tonicha Pearson, who created the page.
“My heart just melted for her. She’s 79, living by herself and this has happened in the middle of a pandemic so to go through that by herself - I just get emotional and upset thinking about it.”
The big-hearted 22-year-old also lives in Dunston, although the two have never met.
However she hopes to pay Ida a visit - perhaps this weekend - to tell her about the fundraising.
The page was initially set up to cover the cost of extra security, on top of generous donations of CCTV and a shed for her scooter that were also made.
Thankfully the scooter wasn’t stolen during Sunday morning’s shocking attack, in which two young brutes dragged her out the front door of her Ross Avenue home before pulling her face over a pebbledashed wall.
Pictures of her injuries and bruising left readers appalled. Northumbria Police have urged anybody who knows the culprits to hand them over, for a crime so heinous it shocked even experienced officers. However the initial £250 fundraising target was smashed in just hours thanks to the generosity of a community that has shown it cares.
“I didn’t expect the page to shoot off the way it is, but words can’t describe how I feel that it has,” added Tonicha.
“It just shows there are people out there who have a heart.
“Things like this don’t happen normally in Dunston, but when they do, we all come together.”
Northumbria Police’s investigation is still underway into the cowardly assault, which left Ida with severe bruising across her body and a badly injured knee.
Neighbourhood Inspector Alan Davison called on the community to
There are no words to describe how I felt what I read about what had happened Tonicha Pearson
look at the pictures of Ida’s injuries and name those responsible.
He said: “This is an abhorrent attack on a vulnerable pensioner in her own home and we are determined to find those responsible.
“The mobility scooter would clearly belong to someone with a vulnerability and I find it appalling that anyone would try to take it away from someone in need.
“To then shove an elderly woman into a wall, and cause the level of injury that they have done, is beyond comprehension and I know the wider community will share our anger.
“We have carried out extensive enquiries already but we need the help of those living in the Dunston area if we are to identify who they are.
“There will be people out there who know who is responsible and we would urge you to look at these pictures of Ida and ask whether you are happy for those responsible to evade justice.”
Anyone with information that may help police identify those responsible is asked to contact 101 quoting log 504 28/02/21.
You can also report online at the Northumbria Police website or contact independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.