Easington nurse still unconscious after assault

May 16 2009 by Neil McKay, The Journal

THE sister of a nurse brutally attacked in her own home told last night how she did not recognise her when she arrived at hospital because of her horrific injuries.

Audrey Turnbull, a care nurse and a St John Ambulance Brigade volunteer who is also devoted to her severely disabled niece, has failed to regain consciousness since she was found by police in the early hours of Thursday at her home in Easington Street, Easington Colliery, County Durham.

Yesterday Miss Turnbull, 40, who lives alone, was transferred with serious head injuries from Sunderland Royal to Newcastle General Hospital. Her condition was described as “serious”.

Her sister Susan Hubery, 44, from Hawthorn, near Easington, said she had visited Miss Turnbull in the General.

She said: “I did not recognise her, my sister’s face was battered and bruised and a number of bones were broken.

“I am having to try to dissuade my younger daughter Danielle, who is 14, from going into visit her aunt. It would be too distressing for her.

“It is absolutely sickening, she wouldn’t hurt a fly. Her injuries look appalling.”

Miss Turnbull’s brother-in-law Kevin, 44, a children’s entertainer, added: “Audrey is a real innocent.She dotes on our two girls, Emma and Danielle, she is a member of the St John Ambulance Brigade where she gives up her time to attend outdoor events to give first aid to anybody who requires it.

“She works as a care nurse at The Hawthorns Care and Rehabilitation Centre in Peterlee, often working shifts.

“Audrey is the last person something like this should happen to.”

Mr Hubery said his sister-in-law was a “devoted aunt” to both his daughters, including their eldest Emma, 19, who suffers from cerebral palsy and is wheelchair bound after she was starved of oxygen during her birth at Sunderland General Hospital.