Horror hammer attack on teenager

Deanna Burrows thought she was about to hang out with a friend she’d chatted to on Snapchat, but that’s not who turned up to meet her.

A traumatised teenage girl has recalled the horror of being beaten over the skull with a hammer, after she was lured to a meet up over Snapchat.

Deanna Burrows, 17, from Cambridgeshire in the UK, was knocked out and left with three gaping wounds on her head by a jealous love rival, after arriving at what she thought was a date in September 2017.

Deanna Burrows thought she was about to meet her friend's boyfriend.

Deanna had been chatting on Snapchat and meeting up with the boyfriend of her friend, Lucy Riddington, but she believed they were nothing more than friends.

One night, she was sent a message from the boyfriend, asking her to meet him, but when Deanna arrived, she was struck with a hammer by Lucy.

When Deanna asked why she was being assaulted, her attacker replied “you know why”.

Deanna Burrows was left bloodied and bruised in the surprise attack.

Deanna told the Mirror: “As I scrambled to my feet, I felt what I thought was water pouring down the side of my head, but it was really blood.”

She compared the sight of her attacker to that of a “horror movie serial killer”.

Deanna had to have stitches and spent the night in hospital.

Deanna Burrows thought she was about to meet her friend's boyfriend.

Deanna was later told she could have died, because Ms Riddington continued to hit her with the hammer and kick her while she was unconscious.

Ms Riddington allegedly used a tablet belonging to her boyfriend’s relative and posed as him to lure Deanna to meet.

Deanna’s attacker escaped a jail sentence, but she said she has been left “traumatised” in the years since the brutal attack.

“I’m not the same person since Lucy attacked me,” she said,

“I can’t go out alone in public, and feel like I’m always looking over my shoulder.

“She could have killed me, but she got off scot-free while I’ve been left mentally scarred for life.”

Deanna said she has spent more than two years living with the trauma of her attack.

During their investigation, police discovered four hammers in Ms Riddington’s home in Huntingdon and found Deanna’s DNA on one.

In February, Ms Riddington pleaded guilty to attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm with intent.

She was sentenced to 18 months in a young offenders’ institution, suspended for two years.

Ms Riddington was also ordered to complete 120 hours of unpaid work and given a three-year restraining order against Deanna.

This story originally appeared in The Sun and has been republished here with permission.