‘He was gone in a flash’: Police investigate as London woman’s ponytail slashed in surprise attack
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The 55-year-old woman said she was set upon by a mystery man as she emptied her bins down the communal rubbish chute on Tuesday evening. A woman has recounted her horror at having her ponytail cut off by a man in a balaclava in a surprise attack at her south London block of flats.
![[The woman bagged a clip of her hair her cut off during the attack]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/14/17/newFile-1.jpg)
Police are investigating after the 55-year-old woman, who spoke to The Independent under condition of anonymity, said she was set upon by a mystery man as she emptied her bins down the communal rubbish chute on Tuesday evening. She said she believed the attacker used a switchblade to slash at her beloved braid she had been growing for years before leaping down over a railing and escaping.
![[Mallard’s Walk where the attacker struck]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/14/17/IMG_3060.jpg)
The woman, who uses a walking stick, said she was just yards from her front door when she was attacked from behind. “He came up behind me, held on to my neck and with one swipe of a blade slashed my braid off. It was over in seconds,” she said. “He didn’t say a word to me.
![[The bin chute where the victim was attacked]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/14/17/IMG_3058.jpg)
“He was like a magician - he was gone in a flash. I don’t know what he wanted with me. My hair was long in a plait it was the length of my granddaughter.”. The woman said all she could see of the man was his long coat. “I started screaming and he took off. Police said he must have jumped over a railing to get away. He was very tall and all in black,” she said.
