Why am I a target?

A SECOND attack on a Bideford woman in a month has left her afraid to go out alone and the family asking why she has been targeted. In a frightening attack in broad daylight, Andrea Chance was walking home through the town shortly after midday last Wednes

A SECOND attack on a Bideford woman in a month has left her afraid to go out alone and the family asking why she has been targeted.In a frightening attack in broad daylight, Andrea Chance was walking home through the town shortly after midday last Wednesday when she was stabbed in the arm by a hooded man.A month ago Mrs Chance, 43, was pounced on while jogging on the outskirts of the town. She managed to fight off her attacker, but was left bruised and scratched.Police were concerned after the first incident that they might be dealing with a random attacker and feared other women were at risk.Now they are convinced that Mrs Chance has been targeted. Investigations are now seeking the answers to the big questions "why?" and "by whom?"Mrs Chance told the Gazette how she had been shopping in Bideford and was walking home. Someone had shouted her name when she was at the northern end of Mill Street, but when she turned around she could see no-one she knew.Near the entrance to Stella Maris Court someone walking a Staffy type dog bumped into her, said "sorry" and walked off.Then, as she was on her mobile phone, someone came out from bushes near parked cars and brushed past her. She felt a pain and then blood trickling down her arm.The man, who was wearing a grey "hoody," ran off back towards the town.Mrs Chance went home and her husband took her to hospital for treatment.As well as a puncture wound, she also had smaller cuts to her arm."I now feel that I have no freedom to go anywhere on my own," said Mrs Chance. "I just don't know what they want from me. I thought it was just random when I was attacked while out running. Now I feel it is something personal against me, but I don't know why."The second attacker was different from the first, she said."He was not tall enough to be the same man who attacked me in the lane. He was about five feet eight inches, possibly in his early 20s and stocky, but not fat."Husband Alan Chance said it seemed that his wife was being targeted. But was there a connection between the two attacks or was the second was some kind of sick copycat?After the first attack he had asked police for a personal alarm for his wife. But this did not arrive until Thursday, said Mr Chance."Had she had it the previous day people could have been alerted and we may have caught the person responsible," he said.The second attack had just left them feeling numb. His wife could now not go out on her own. Everyone was asking "why" but they just could not provide an answer, said Mr Chance.Detective Sergeant Barry Mitchell said Mrs Chance had not received serious injuries, but it could have been much worse. This was now being treated as a targeted attack rather than someone picking randomly on lone women.They had carried out door to door inquiries in the Strand and Stella Maris Court area, he said.Investigations into the first attack were also continuing. Results of forensic examinations were still awaited. This was "in depth" work, which would take time.It is believed people were in the area at the time of the attack and anyone with information is asked to contact Bideford police on 08452 777444.