[James]

http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/news/content_objectid=13327067

NUSH: MY HELL

Aug 24 2003


EXCLUSIVE: WOUNDED NUSH FIGHTS AGONY AND VOWS..

By James Saville


BRUISED and battered, Big Brother star Nush Nowak relived the horror of her violent street mugging as she lay in agony in hospital yesterday.

She fought back tears as she spoke of her terrible ordeal after undergoing a gruelling eight-hour operation to fix a broken thigh bone and shattered kneecap.

But she vowed defiantly: "I'm not going to let this animal ruin my life."

I was invited to visit Nush, 23, at London's Royal Free Hospital by her family. There she told me about the moment the ruthless thug pounced on her "like an express train" as she walked home with Big Brother housemate Scott Turner after a night out in North London.

Her attacker leapt out at her from a garden and ripped her bag from her shoulder, sending her tumbling on to the pavement. He then jumped into a waiting car which zoomed off.

"I've never been so frightened in all my life," she said. "It sent me into a massive state of shock and I was trembling all over.

"What has the world come to when someone has to stoop this low just for a mobile phone and £20?"

Nush's injuries are so painful she is still on a morphine pump which she says makes her feel "spaced out".

Doctors say the spiral fracture to her femur is so severe she will not be able to put weight on it for up to eight weeks.

"They have put a 12-inch metal rod right through my thigh bone along with pins to keep it all in place and there's wire in my knee," said Nush. "I'm likely to have to live with these in my leg for the rest of my life."

As she spoke emotionally in her private room she bore little resemblance to the bubbly Nush millions came to love on the Channel 4 reality show earlier this summer.

She lifted her arm to show me a huge black and blue bruise. It seems that only now is the full horror of last Wednesday's savage mugging finally hitting her.

"I saw this young black man come out of a front garden and felt an almighty tug on my right shoulder," she said. "The mugger yanked my bag down with such force it sent me tumbling to the ground.

"My whole weight went bang on to my left knee as I landed on the pavement. There was a sickening cracking sound and a searing, unbelievable pain.

"It was like an express train had hit me. It was so quick and sudden.

"As I laid on the floor, I remember thinking, 'I want to lift my leg but I can't'. I could feel the break as I tried. It was an awful sensation. I knew something was seriously wrong because my leg sticking out at a weird angle. The pain was unbearable. I was screaming and in floods of tears. I lay there shaking and couldn't believe what had happened. I still can't now."

Nush told how Scott tried to chase the attacker but was foiled when the man jumped into a waiting car. Her Big Brother pal then called for an ambulance and she was taken straight to A & E.

"They were giving me oxygen because the pain was so unbearable. I swore at the top of my voice. I felt I had to say sorry to other patients afterwards because I'd been shouting so much. An X-ray confirmed that I'd broken my femur."

Three hours later she was taken into the operating theatre for emergency surgery.

Meanwhile Scott phoned her parents who quickly drove from the family home in Malvern, Worcs, leaving her younger brother Joe with friends.

"We were just frantic with worry," said mum Elzbieta, a staff nurse. "But it looks like the operation was successful and Nush is a real fighter anyway.

"I didn't expect her to be able to talk for several hours after the operation. But typical her, she phoned me from the recovery room as soon as she woke up."

Stepdad David Shields added: "She will be bouncing back before we know it - she's being really brave and philosophical - we are proud of her."

Nush was given a combination of morphine and pethidine to numb the pain after the op. But she said: "I'm still in constant throbbing pain." Her thigh bone was broken by a sudden twist rather than a snap, and her kneecap was shattered during the fall.

Nush said her night out with fellow Big Brother contestants started happily.

"Myself, Scott, John Tickle and Gos all got together for a bit of a reunion drink along with members of the production team," she said.

They met in a bar in Islington to watch the England v Croatia soccer match. From there, they went to a nearby nightclub.

"We stayed until about 2am. John and Gos decided to leave but Scott and I went on to another club in Soho with one of the show's editors. I have been staying at my aunt's in Kentish Town and told Scott he was welcome to sleep on the couch. We got a taxi there but jumped out along the main street to go to the 24-hour store because we were starving hungry.

"It was only a five-minute walk back to the flat. We were walking on the right-hand side of a dimly-lit street with Scott nearest to the road when it happened. It was a fantastic night and I never imagined it would end like this...it hasn't sunk in."

Detectives believe it was a carefully calculated crime carried out away from CCTV cameras. Nush's Indian embroidered shoulder bag contained her purse with around £20, a Nokia mobile phone and a selection of Polaroid photographs.

"One was of me and Scott together in Cyprus. It made me laugh to look at because we were just mucking around when it was taken."

Despite their obvious close friendship both Nush and Scott yesterday denied they are lovers.

"We're getting really fed up with all the speculation we are boyfriend and girlfriend," said Nush. "We are not. Scott is a really good friend and that it how it is staying."

Scott added: "Why can't people get the message? It's getting beyond a joke."

NUSH'S blossoming showbiz career has been dealt a massive setback by the attack."I had just got an offer to present a show for MTV as well as a yoga video," she said.

"I just hope that people will understand the situation and give me a chance when I'm better. I can't let this ruin my future.

Nush fears the gang had been told she was staying in the area

"It's quite possible they knew who I was. I believe the getaway car must have driven past as we were walking and dropped off the mugger so he could get into position.

"This will make me think twice about going out in London. I hoped to move here for good, but if I do I will have to get a flatmate or two."

Nush doesn't know how long she will have to stay in hospital. "People here have been great and I've had so many visits," she said. "I'm still a bit dazed but I'm so grateful."

Yesterday the Sunday Mirror took Scott back to the scene of the attack as police made a special appeal for witnesses.

Liverpudlian Scott, 28, said: "I feel like I should have done more. I tried to chase them but it was no use - I'm just gutted I couldn't have stopped it happening.

"The whole thing has been a living nightmare. I caught a good glimpse of the culprit so I'm praying the police can catch him and bring him to justice. He was 5ft 7in, quite petite and wore dark clothing.

"At the time I was more concerned about Nush. She was lying in the road, screaming in agony. I had to dial 999 but I didn't know what road I was on so I had to sprint down to the bottom to find out then sprint back up.

"I didn't like leaving Nush for those few seconds but I had no option. I could tell how serious it was by how much pain she was in. I just remember her swearing at the top of her voice. I had her blood all over my shirt. I felt so sorry for her. I stayed all night at the hospital. I felt I couldn't leave until her parents had arrived."

Det Sgt Andy Thomas, who is leading the investigation, said: "We're doing everything we can to catch this brute."

He urged anyone who had seen or heard anything in relation to the attack - which happened in the Leighton Road area - to call the robbery squad on 0208 733 6906.

How her leg was mended

DURING Nush's eight-hour operation surgeons removed her kneecap. A hole was then drilled through her femur - thigh bone - and a 12-inch titanium rod was passed down the inside of the bone.

The rod was then bolted in place with two short pins (inset). Meanwhile her kneecap was put back together and held in place by wire.

Nush will have a scar on her knee and four on her thigh.

I think the insinuations in The Sun's story are a load of rubbish as well by the way. The Sun is probably jealous that a rival newspaper has the exclusive story.