A WOMAN has spoken of her terror after a man hit her on the head with a wooden mallet in a Walthamstow park.

The 35-year-old, who did not wish to be named for fear of further attacks, was walking through Lloyd Park in the morning rush hour when a man attacked her with a mallet, hitting her on the head.

She said: "I was terrified, I thought he was going to kill somebody.

"We confronted each other face to face, he did not say anything and then I managed to run away screaming."

The man did not attempt to rob the woman, who has no idea why he attacked her.

She fled from the man, and a passerby phoned an ambulance.

She was treated at Whipps Cross Hospital, in Leytonstone, where a deep gash on her head was glued together.

The woman, who lives in Brettenham Road, said: "I cannot sleep at night, he could have killed me.

"This guy is running around a public park with a mallet, it is serious."

The woman was initially angry with police as she felt they were not taking her concerns seriously when she spoke to officers at Walthamstow police station.

She said: "I was told that the police were not going to do door-to-door enquries as it was only actual bodily harm (ABH) and not grievous bodily harm (GBH).

"They did not seem to understand that this is serious and I was angry that a madman is running around a park and nobody seems to want to do anything about it."

But the police have since carried out a small number of door-to-door enquiries.

A spokeswoman said that the woman misunderstood the officer that spoke to.

She said that the police are not putting up yellow boards detailing the incident but they are treating it seriously.

The attack happened near to the Brettenham Road entrance of the park on Tuesday shortly before 9am.

The woman describes her attacker as 5ft 5in, Asian and aged between 17 and 22 years.

Anybody with information should call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.