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Television presenter Kirsty Gallacher has told how she was physically assaulted by a masked attacker in Central London on Tuesday night as she walked back to her car in the dark after she finished work.
The former Sky Sports host revealed she was 'kicked like a football' during the unprovoked incident at 7pm which left her shocked and terrified – and added that she has the bruises to 'prove' what happened.
Revealing the attack on Instagram, she said: 'Last night I was physically assaulted in the streets of central London walking from work to my car, the walk I do most nights. The streets are well lit. There were people around.
'I was walking on the pavement, and I noticed this guy, all in black, covered up, actually, just walking at me. And I'm always vigilant. And he was just walking towards me, and so I moved out of the way, and then he brushed past me.
'He turned around, and he kicked me like he was kicking a football. He kicked me in the middle of a street at about seven o'clock last night, in front of people, and I turned around and he scarpered.
'I'm still shocked now, and I have the bruises to prove I'm afraid. I can't quite believe what happened. I was not being provocative in any way. I was just going about my business as you do. I was just walking to my car to go back home to my family.'
Kirsty, also said she found it 'hugely disappointing' as a nearby security guard was 'absolutely useless' and 'didn't do anything.'
However, she did thank a woman who came forward to help her.
Television presenter Kirsty Gallacher has told how she was physically assaulted by a masked attacker in Central London on Tuesday night
The former Sky Sports host revealed she was 'kicked like a football' during the unprovoked incident at 7pm
Kirsty, has two sons named Oscar, 18, and Jude, 15, from her marriage to former rugby star Paul Sampson
'I luckily had some witnesses, some lovely girls saw it and came to my aid. There was a security guard on a door nearby who was absolutely useless and didn't do anything, which was hugely disappointing, and I just there, and I couldn't actually believe that someone, a stranger, has just decided, for whatever reason, whether he's a got a problem with women, whether he's just an opportunist.
'He decided he did not like me, and he just thought, Now, give you the boot. And that is not okay. It's not okay, it's not okay.'
Kirsty said she decided to speak out about the attack because she believes such violence is becoming common place in London.
London is the 15th most dangerous city for crime in Europe as concerns continue to mount over a growing epidemic of violence, theft and robbery, according to Numbeo's Crime Index.
The capital, which is also the 100th worst out of 385 locations around the world, is less safe than rival European cities from Athens to Brussels and Milan to Barcelona.
London is also worse than major US cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Dallas as well as other global destinations from Cancun to Cairo and Bali to Bangalore.
The city is however only the fifth worst UK location for crime - behind Bradford, Coventry, Birmingham and Manchester.
The data, which is compiled from global survey responses and has been updated regularly since 2012, ranks London particularly badly for four categories out of 15.
Kirsty said she decided to speak out about the attack because she believes such violence is becoming common place in London
These are the capital's 'level of crime'; 'crime increasing in the past five years'; 'problem people using or dealing drugs'; and 'safety walking alone during night'.
Former GB News host Kirsty said: 'It's really sad that that is what's going on on the streets of London, and that is very real. And we all hear about it, don't we all hear like, Oh yeah, you know, be careful. Don't have your phone out.
'And people being sadly, you know, mugged or worse, you know, awful, awful things going on, and you always think it's not going to happen to me.
'And that was me. I thought, I'm very vigilant. I'm very careful. I'm very careful of where, how I'm walking, and, you know, make sure that I don't have my phone in my hand, that I have, like, a cross body bag, and I'm not holding anything out, but actually, I couldn't have done more to protect myself. And still that happened to me.
'Someone decided to just give me a good kicking in the street, and I really wanted to share it with you, because this is happening all the time, and it's not good, and it's not all right, and I want you to really be careful and vigilant and look after yourselves and look after those around you.
'And I'm very grateful to those lovely girls. Hopefully they'll see this, they might see this, but thank you, because you're amazing.
'Because I didn't know what to do in that moment, I was shocked. I've never experienced anything like it, and I just wanted to share it, and I really just wanted to say, stay safe. You might not think it's going to happen to you, but it could be you.'
Revealing the attack on Instagram, she said: 'Last night I was physically assaulted in the streets of central London walking from work to my car.'
Kirsty, who has two sons named Oscar, 18, and Jude, 15, from her marriage to former rugby star Paul Sampson, was arrested for drink driving in Eton, Berkshire back in 2017. She was subsequently banned from driving for two years. She was found to be over three times the legal alcohol limit, with a reading of 106 micrograms per 100ml of breath.
Matt Goodwin, senior visiting professor of politics at the University of Buckingham, wrote in the Daily Mail in June that 'London is over. It's so over.'
He cited data showing that more than 70,000 phones were stolen in London last year, and there were 90,000 shoplifting offences in the capital, up 54 per cent.
Professor Goodwin added that there is now an alleged rape every hour in London – and reported sexual offences against women and girls has risen 14 per cent in five years, while homelessness and rough sleeping increased 26 per cent in one year.
Meanwhile a policing expert told the Mail that London 'crime-ridden cesspit'.
Ex-New Scotland Yard detective Peter Bleksley said the force was now so stretched in the West End that private security companies were being deployed to help.
He condemned the 'epidemic of crime' in London from pickpocketing to violence and fare evasion to robbery, adding that it was 'driving people away' from the capital.
