Woman left with gash on her face after attack in Southend's Talk nightclub when she rejected man

The 20-year-old, from Southend, was out with her boyfriend on Saturday (Feb 27) night in Talk nightclub.

She was reportedly approached by a man who tried to come on to her, but when she rebuffed his advances he turned nasty.

She spent the rest of the night in hospital and has been left with a swollen eye and cheek bone, bruised cheek bone, locked jaw and two wounds to the right side of her face.

The couple, who were happy for the photo and details of the incident to be in the Echo, but did not want to be directly quoted, now want her attacker to be brought to justice.

Julian Ware-Lane, Labour councillor for the Milton ward, said: “No-one should be hitting anyone but doing it because you have been rejected by a woman is completely outrageous.

“One of the things I have campaigned about is the low prosecution rate for rape and although this is clearly not a rape it is symptomatic of the fact that some people seemingly think women are fair game for whatever they feel like.

“We have to get the message out to everyone that women’s choices must be respected, of course there will be disappointment at times when making advances but people should be able to control themselves.”

A man was arrested in connection with the incident and has been bailed pending further police inquiries.

A spokeswoman for Essex Police said: “A 20-year-old man from Barking was arrested on suspicion of assault following an incident in premises in Lucy Road in Southend.

“Police were contacted shortly after 4am with reports that a 20-year-old woman had been assaulted. She sustained facial cuts and bruising.

“The arrested man has subsequently been bailed pending further enquiries and is due to report back on March 25.”

The Echo contacted Talk nightclub but the owner, Wayne Spear, did not wish to comment on the incident as he had no knowledge of it and the manager on duty at the time was not able to be contacted.