A woman attacked in the street by the man who unfairly sacked her has spoken of her fight for justice.

Gaynor Garrett, of Orford Road, South Woodford, is awaiting the sentence of her ex-boss Peter Selvey, after he was found guilty of attacking her on April 18.

The 48-year-old started working part-time for 69-year-old Mr Selvey at Peter the Pleater, opposite her flat in Hermon Hill, South Woodford, in June 2009.

The single mother-of-two said: “He was never pleasant to work with, but I told myself ‘you have to be careful what you say, he’s your employer.’

“A job is a job when you’re on your own with two children to support.”

Three years later in November 2012, Ms Garrett was at work waiting for her father to pick up her then five-year-old son Sean, when she asked Mr Selvey whether he could move his van so she could have better access to her flat.

She said: “He just started shouting torrents of abuse at me and told me I was sacked.

“When I walked out he carried on shouting at me in the street.

“It was humiliating, but my first thoughts were for my son - it had quite an effect on him, he was very frightened.”

She went on: “I was pretty distraught at losing my job just before Christmas, for the next six months any special occasions like the children’s birthdays had to be very low key.”

When Ms Garrett found she was entitled to three weeks’ notice and another three days holiday pay, she claims Mr Selvey refused to give her anything, saying she walked out of her own accord.

She said: “I was absolutely gutted, I needed that money for the children.”

After an employment tribunal at the East London Hearing Centre on June 13 2013, Ms Garrett won an unfair dismissal case and £3,350 compensation.

On February 27 2015, Ms Garrett was with her sister and 11-year-old nephew in front her flat in Pulteney Road when Mr Selvey approached her with a broom.

She said: “All I said to my sister was ‘That’s Peter’ and he just started shouting abuse at me again, poking me with the broom and rapping me around my knuckles.

“My knuckles really hurt and I still can’t bend my fingers on my right hand.”

Ms Garrett and her sister phoned the police, but as they were waiting, she claims Mr Selvey walked back towards her and struck her from behind with the broom.

She said: “The pain in my shoulder was horrific, it was overwhelming.

“My mum had come down at this point and he and his wife were hurling more abuse at us saying ‘Your daughter’s a liar.’

“I was so angry my 11-year-old nephew had seen such a horrible thing happen.”

Despite phoning the police, Ms Garrett claims they went to the wrong address and took two days to charge Mr Selvey with assault.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "We were called at around 4pm on February 27, by a woman reporting that she had been assaulted by a man in Pulteney Road, South Woodford.

"Officers attended an address at the time of the incident but reported no trace of victim or suspect.

"They met with the victim on Sunday, 1 March, and the incident was investigated by detectives from Redbridge CID."

Ms Garrett said: “After that we stopped using our front door to avoid seeing him, my son refused to play outside and we never sat on our balcony.

“I was pleased to have my day in court because he dominated our lives for six years and made us feel like hostages in our own home.”

Mr Selvey denied the attack but was found guilty of assault at Havering Magistrates Court on April 18 and will be sentenced on June 10.

The mother-of-two added: “I do care about the sentence, but I’m more relieved that someone believed me and has acknowledged that he can’t treat me the way he did.”