Woman stabbed with pen on Blackpool coach trip
A 66-year-old coach trip organiser has been stabbed with a pen - which was left embedded in her arm.
Cynthia Bell was on board one of her husband's coaches which was on a trip to Blackpool when an unknown assailant lashed out.
The man got on the vehicle in the coach park in Seasiders Way, and refused to leave, before Ms Bell intervened to stop him tampering with the controls around the driver's seat. SOURCE: Press Association
He grabbed a pen from the dashboard and stabbed her with some force in the arm before he ran off.
The frightening incident happened on 24 August at around 5pm.
Mrs Bell was recovering from her ordeal at home in Spennymoor, County Durham, where she said she was "fine".
"The picture is horrible but it could have been worse," she said. "It was lucky that it missed all the veins and didn't do any internal damage.
"At the moment it is still scabbed and scarred but I hope it will be fine."
She said police have told her they are examining CCTV images to try to identify her attacker.
Cynthia was working for her husband's coach business at the time, which has been running for 42 years.
Detective Superintendent Mark Dickinson, from Lancashire Police, told PA: "As you can see from Mrs Bell's photograph, significant force must have been used by the offender who stabbed her.
"She was lucky to have escaped without serious blood loss or any nerve damage.
"We are pursuing a number of lines of inquiry, including CCTV and forensic opportunities.
"I am particularly keen to identify and speak with two young women who were with the offender and I would ask them, or anyone who recognises them from their descriptions, to contact me as soon as possible."
The offender is described as a white male in his late teens or early 20s, 6ft and of stocky build, with short dark hair.
He was with two young women. The first is described as white, wearing a pink top with a floral pattern, with a pram or pushchair. She walked with a limp.
The second woman had blonde hair and was wearing a cream jumper. She had a tattoo on the right side of her lower stomach on display.
Anyone with information can contact either PC 6857 Danny Morris or DS 3370 Mark Dickinson on 101 quoting log number 0979 of August 24 2014.
Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
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