Pensioner feared for her life after being thrown into pool while walking through park

And the pensioner, who has asked not to be named, has warned other women to be on their guard in case the man strikes again.

The victim, who had to be rescued by firefighters from Longmoor Pool, says the police have not taken her incident, which happened on September 14, seriously enough.

“I’m more scared now than I used to be,” she said. “I am very anxious. I don’t normally use the Banners Gate entrance but did so on the day and I was at Longmoor Pool when it happened. I turned to come back and there was a man coming towards me from the entrance. He was very close to me.

“I looked into his eyes and had that feeling when you know you are in trouble. He hooked his finger and said come here. I tried to make light of it and said ‘I have to get home’.

“He said ‘no’. He grabbed my left leg, destabilised me and he tipped me over the wall into the water.

“I went down into the pool and I remember thinking ‘I am going to die now’. I surfaced a couple of times, bobbed up and down and after that I came up on my back. I’ve never swam or been in the water. I don’t like the water and it was 8ft deep.

“I can only imagine that, as I had a heavy thick coat on, there might have been air in my coat and it kept me on my back.

“I screamed for help and a man came along who threw me two lifebuoys. A lady called the emergency services and the fire service rescued me. I can’t thank them enough.

“I was treated for hypothermia and given intravenous drugs for inhalation pneumonia at hospital, where I spent three days.”

The woman has spoken of her disappointment in police over their response to the case and says she has been told it has been ‘put to bed’.

But she fears other women could be subjected to a similar attack by the man, who she describes as black, tall, athletic built, with broad shoulders, short wavy black hair and a long face.

“They have made no real attempt to find this man,” she added. “I have had nightmares, waking up screaming for help and seeing a figure looming over me. This man is still out there and my main worry now is not me, as I will get over it but other women, who need to be careful.

“It is warning people,that is my concern now. I see women walking on their own with their dogs. He picked an opportune moment when nobody was about and could do it again.”

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said a lack of CCTV meant the incident was not, at present, being pursued.

“We carried out a full investigation after a woman in her 70s was pushed into a lake in Monmouth Drive off Monmouth Road, Sutton Coldfield,” he said. “The attack took place at around 11am on September 14.

“This incident was clearly shocking and very distressing for the woman involved. She was taken to hospital and thankfully did not suffer any serious injuries, but has understandably been left shaken.

“Unfortunately there were no witnesses present at the time and there is no CCTV in Sutton Park covering the location of the incident.

“Due to the size of the park, it is not known where the suspect came from or went to after the incident, meaning a wider CCTV trawl was unable to be carried out.“We were provided a description of the suspect at the time, however we did not release this due to lack of CCTV and believed it would not have generated information of evidential value.

“We generally ask for the public’s help when we’ve got good quality CCTV footage and always seek to secure sufficient evidence and identify suspects with a view to getting justice for victims.Unfortunately on this occasion the description was not strong enough without CCTV to support positive identification of the suspect.

“The neighbourhood team covering Sutton Park have been made aware of the incident and have been given the suspect’s description.

“They have been carrying out reassurance patrols around the surrounding park areas. Intelligence checks were also completed and there have been no other similar incidents reported in the area.

“We kept the woman fully updated on the progress of the investigation and will continue to support her. We will look into any further evidence that comes to light.

“If anyone has any information on this incident, contact us via Live Chat on our website quoting crime reference 20/1667983/21.”