A YOUNG woman faces an anxious wait after being stabbed twice in the stomach with a hypodermic needle.

Katie Dawson, 19, from Strood, fears she may have been infected with hepatitis or HIV after the attack in Chatham town centre.

She said: “My greatest fear is that I could die, because of the diseases I might have. I have to wait an agonising three months to see if I have been infected with HIV.

“I have been immunised against hepatitis, but I’m so scared, I really am worried about what’s going to happen.

“I didn’t realise what had happened at first and it wasn’t until the next day I bent over and had a pain in my stomach.

“I went to the hospital and it was then I was told I has two needle wound marks, I was so shocked. My first thought was I’m going to die.

Ms Dawson, a barmaid at The Ship in Cobham, near Gravesend, was sitting on a bench with friends close to the flyover in Railway Street early Saturday morning when they were approached by three people shouting abuse.

It was at this point, between 12.45am and 1.15am, that one of the party – a woman – struck her in the stomach with the needle.

said Ms Dawson. “I really don’t know why she did this to me, I’ve never seen her before and don’t know why she did it.

“I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through what I’m going through, so I’d urge anyone who knows who did this to me to contact police.”

Ms Dawson's attacker has been described as white, about 5ft 2in tall, with blonde shoulder-length hair, dark eyes, and a round face with a pointed jaw.

She was wearing cream or yellow-coloured clothing.

Det Con Dave Cooper said. “We are keen to hear from anyone who has information which will help us with this investigation.

“Currently there are a number of lines of enquiry that we are following and we are examining CCTV footage. This incident has caused a great deal of distress to the woman and we are keen to arrest the person responsible.”

Call Det Con Cooper on 01634 792529 or CrimeStoppers on 0800 555111.