Mum bashed with wooden stake while walking with baby in sling
A mother held her arms up to protect her young baby from blows as she was attacked with a wooden garden stake and robbed in the middle of the afternoon in Geelong.
The 31-year-old woman was on a track near the corner of Drysdale Avenue and Hillwood Close in Geelong with her five-month-old son in a baby sling across her chest, just before 3.30pm on Tuesday.
The man appeared from behind some bushes and approached the woman, mumbling something before he began hitting the woman with a wooden stake.
Police say the victim was hit on the legs and face several times while she protected her son's head and face.
The attack stopped when the victim dropped her wallet, which the man picked up before he ran off.
The Geelong woman was left bloodied and bruised and was taken to the Geelong Hospital.
"The lady has bled onto her baby which would obviously be very distressing," Detective Sergeant Gary Arnold told reporters on Wednesday. "She was distraught... she was holding her arms up to protect her child. He's struck her number of times in the face and the arms."
Detective Sergeant Arnold said the woman was attacked on a popular walking track.
There are a number garden stakes holding plants in place along the path and police suspect the man may have removed one in the moments before he attacked the woman.
"It's a well-worn path, a lot of people walk their dogs there...it's what you'd consider to be a safe area," he said adding that police were canvassing CCTV footage in the area.
"It's a very unprovoked and violent attack which obviously had the potential for serious injuries for the woman or her child."
Detectives have made a public appeal for anyone who witnessed the assault or spoke to the victim following the attack to contact police.
The man is described as Caucasian, aged in his 40s and about 183 centimetres tall with gaunt facial features.
He was wearing a loose-fitting dark blue or grey T-shirt at the time of the assault.
Anyone with information is being urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or make a report online at www.crimestoppersviccrimestoppersvic.com.au