Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery has been punched to the head after coming to the aid of a woman under attack on a Coniston street.
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Cr Bradbery, 65, was bound for his Berkeley home about 9.20pm Wednesday when he says he saw a man accosting a woman on Bridge Street.
“It looked like he was trying to rip the handbag off this woman,” Cr Bradbery told the Mercury.
“I decided I needed to intervene – I couldn’t drive past – so I pulled in behind his car and that was sufficient for him to be distracted and the woman to get away, but he decided then to take me on.”
Cr Bradbery believes the man was drug-affected when he came aggressively towards the front of his car.
“He was telling me to ‘eff off’. As I held him back and tried to get back in my car he threw a couple of punches. One was in the head; one was across the right hand. He clobbered me.”
Nursing a “big headache” and some scratches on Thursday, Cr Bradbery said he had taken painkillers and gone to sleep after the run-in. He did not require medical assistance but said he intended to visit the doctor later Thursday.
The incident came on the eve of the city’s Reclaim the Night march, Thursday night.
Cr Bradbery said the incident served as a reminder not to look the other way when it came to violence against women.
"Hopefully if we see anyone in distress like that, we would all be prepared to respond or call the police. That's what anyone should do."
The matter has been reported to Wollongong Police, who have called on the woman involved in the incident to make contact.
Police would also like to speak to any witnesses and to the aggressor, described as of Caucasian appearance, about 1.8 metres tall, with short hair.
Contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 to assist the police investigation.