British waitress, 22, is stabbed, stripped naked and SCALPED in horror attack 'by gypsy family who accused her of having an affair with one of their clan' in Portugal
- Leighanne Rumney, from South Shields, was kidnapped and taken to a forest
- She was attacked by relatives of the man they thought she had been seeing
- The 22-year-old had to run away naked after the horror attack in the Algarve
Leighanne Rumney (pictured) was stabbed and scalped by a violent gypsy gang in Portugal
A British woman was stabbed and scalped by a violent gypsy gang in Portugal who claimed she was having an affair with a married man.
Leighanne Rumney, from South Shields, was allegedly kidnapped by relatives of the man who they wrongly believed she was seeing.
The 22-year-old was reportedly targeted in a 'ritual shaming' in a Portuguese forest by gypsies who stabbed her and chopped off her long blonde hair.
She had to run away naked and flag down a car to escape the horror attack, The Sun reported.
She is said to have attracted interest from a Roma gypsy while working as a waitress at a bar in Alubfeira, in the Algarve, but said they had never dated.
However the gypsy family wrongly believed they were having an affair, and lured her into their car to kidnap her.
She said: 'They drove me 45 minutes away from where I lived to a remote spot then opened and bag which I saw contained two knives and scissors.
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'I was convinced they were going to kill me and was so scared I didn't move or speak as the two women stripped me naked and started stabbing me in the back.
'They finally took the scissors and chopped off all my hair - it was some kind of a ritual to shame me - then left me with blood pouring from my wounds.'
Three people have reportedly been charged with kidnap and assault after the horrific attack.
The 22-year-old (pictured before the attack) was reportedly targeted in a 'ritual shaming' in a Portuguese forest by gypsies who stabbed her and chopped off her long blonde hair
The British woman had been working as a waitress at The Hot Shot Bar in Albufeira (pictured) when she attracted the interest of a gypsy man
Last year a barman in Albufeira was arrested on suspicion of raping a teenage British holidaymaker.
The 19-year-old said she had her drink spiked and was forced to have sex in a back room of a bar.
In 2011 Ian Haggath, a British tourist, was killed in an attack by a gang of robbers in Albufeira.
The 50-year-old was reported at the time to have suffered a fractured skull, blood on the brain and broken cheekbones.
Earlier that year Lance Corporal Darren Lackie died after a night out with his girlfriend in Albufeira.
The 21-year-old Afghanistan veteran suffered serious injuries after falling and hitting his head.
Another Irish holidaymaker was also slashed with a knife and attacked with cobblestones in the same area that year.
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