A student was almost blinded and left with facial scars after she was viciously glassed in the FACE by a man at a bar on holiday.
Danielle Beavis-Smith, 22, was enjoying her last night of a break in Egypt with her boyfriend and family when she was attacked by another guest.
She accepted a drink from a woman at the all inclusive bar apparently infuriating the girl’s male partner – who smashed a glass of rum and coke into her face.
The fashion student was rushed to hospital where doctors patched up the massive cut in her face – just millimetres from her left eye – with 27 stitches.
And to top off her holiday night from hell, she claims staff at the Jungle Aquapark hotel ordered her to pay £155 to have the blood cleared up from the lobby.
Danielle reported the unprovoked attack to the local police but claims they wrongly told her to take it up with officers at home.
Pretty Danielle from Havant, Hampshire, has suffered panic attacks since the vicious assault last month and warned others about the dangers of attacks abroad.
She said: “He made something out of nothing.
“I was by the bar in the hotel lobby with a couple ordering drinks, but the staff told me they were closing up.
“The woman next to me had three drinks in her hand so she gave me one of hers.
“The man she was with didn’t agree so they started arguing.
“I told them it wasn’t a big deal and gave the drink back. I wasn’t bothered at all – it wasn’t a problem.
“He turned around and was quite irate, he grabbed the drink and glassed me straight across the face.
“It was right near my eye. If it had been just a little bit closer, or I had moved upwards, I would have been blind.
“If I had jumped up it might have hit me on the neck and I would have died. I was just lucky.
“I just want to warn people to be more aware of what people can be like. I’m quite a naive person. I’m bubbly and talk to anyone.
“I don’t think I can see myself doing that anymore.
“Whenever I look in the mirror and see the scar I’m reminded of what happened.
“I used to wear my hair up all the time but now I have it down more across my face. I don’t want people to look at the scar.”
Danielle, who was with her boyfriend Jake Woods, 21, a groundworker, was rushed away from the scene with blood pouring from her head, last month.
After being taken to a private hospital for treatment, Danielle was told to pay £1,300 in medical costs, she claims.
She said the police told her to drop the charges in return for the officers convincing the man involved – who was from the Czech Republic – to pay for her bills.
She initially agreed, but later went back to the police and asked for them to look into the crime after encountering the man back at the hotel.
“He walked past me smirking and I thought ‘there is no justice here’ so I went back to the police,”
“I couldn’t believe he was still there.”
Danielle claims they wrongly told her she should take it up with police back in the UK – something she later found out wasn’t correct procedure.
She also claims staff at the Jungle Aquapark hotel ordered her to pay £155 to have the blood cleared up from the lobby – but she refused.
Danielle, who has a 6cm scar on her face, said: “At least I was able to enjoy most of my holiday but it ended on a really horrible night.
“It has been a difficult process.
“The day after it happened I was on the plane and started to get panic attacks.
“I am quite a strong-minded person, but it has definitely hurt my trust in people.
“People still tell me I’m beautiful. I don’t always believe them but I’m not prepared to hide away either.
“I want to let people know that when they are abroad things are different. Over here he would have been arrested and taken to court.
“If you visit places like this, you should know that it’s not the same.”
A Thomas Cook spokesman said: “We want our customers to have the best possible time on holiday, so we are sorry to hear that Ms Beavis-Smith was injured.
“Our team in resort stayed with Ms Beavis-Smith up until departure, and upon return home kept in contact to offer additional advice and support, including regarding a police investigation.
“We recommended that Ms Beavis-Smith contacts her travel insurance provider to reclaim all medical expenses.”
