Woman describes shovel attack

A College Grove woman threatened with a shovel in the backyard of her own home this morning has described the “freakish” unfolding of events that left her partner in hospital.

A neighbour alerted Steph Skilbeck and her partner Lee Walker to a man seen jumping the couple’s back fence while they were standing with their 10-month old son in their front yard.

The 19-year-old said she acted on instinct as she ran to the back of her house still holding her son, Ahren, telling Mr Walker to go to the opposite side.

“I got out there and the guy just walked around the corner with a shovel in his hand and he went to hit me and I screamed,” Ms Skilbeck said.

“Lee came around the corner and tackled him and I ran bub back out the front.

“I came back to help but he hit Lee in the head about four times before I could get the shovel off him.

“I told him ‘if you don’t let go (of Mr Walker), I’ll hit you’ and he just said ‘hit me, hit me’.

“So I hit him in his ribs and I think eventually it was the vibrations of the shovel which made him let go.”

With the help of neighbours who had responded to Ms Skilbeck’s screams, the man was detained until police arrived.

Ms Skilbeck said she could not bear to imagine how much worse the situation could have been, after Mr Walker had only stayed home from work today because his car would not start this morning.

“Who knows what could have happened,” she said.

“If I hadn’t got back out to help Lee in time too, he could’ve died.”

She said the entire situation was “pretty horrible”.

Mr Walker is due to have surgery tonight to put staples in his head and on his hand which had been bitten in the altercation.

Ms Skilbeck said Ahren had been “freaked out” but was doing OK and the family would look at getting extra security at their home.