AssetID: 55483737
Headline: Thug befriended me on Facebook - then threw boiling sugar water over me and attacked me with hammer
Caption: WORDS BYLINE: Cara Simmonds A good Samaritan has told of the terrifying moment boiling sugar water was poured over her as she lay in bed. Sarah Tragner, 49, had intended to help her attacker - but her kind gesture ended in a horrific ordeal which has left her physically and mentally scarred. The mum-of-one was also hit around the head with a hammer and believes she is lucky to be alive. Her attacker Christopher Gillham has now been jailed for 10 years for assaulting her and a woman police officer. Speaking after his sentencing, the mum-of-one said: “I’m lucky. I’m lucky to be alive. It burned so much. I can’t explain it. “I just jumped up and was thinking, what’s this? Then he threw the kettle itself at me as well. “I went downstairs and was in shock. I reached for my bag and turned around, and then I felt a whack on the back of my head from a hammer.” Gillham had been living at her home in Whitstable after she’d taken pity on him because he had nowhere to stay. However, he turned on her just before 5.30am on Sunday, July 27 - throwing the kettle full of sugar water on her. The dangerous blend is commonly used by prison inmates, with the mixture creating a paste that sticks to the skin, causing deep, severe and long-lasting injuries. She believes he attacked her because he realised she wanted him to move out. Bleeding, burnt, and dazed, Sarah went outside and managed to call the emergency services. The ordeal has left her with scars from her knee to her bottom. She also had to have her head “glued back together”. She added: “All I kept saying to the paramedics was that I didn't know what had happened. “I didn’t realise how much my blood was down the back of my T-shirt.” Gillham had already left the scene when armed police and ambulance crews arrived at the house. Some time later, while Sarah was being treated at the QEQM Hospital in Margate, her doorbell camera alerted her that he’d returned to the property. He then attacked the police officer, who had been left at the scene. She was also taken to hospital with serious injuries. It is understood she subsequently left the force. Appearing at Woolwich Crown Court last month, Gillham, of Willow Road, Dartford, was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for grievous bodily harm with intent. Other charges, including assault causing actual bodily harm and criminal damage, were dealt with at the same hearing but did not increase the overall sentence. Two criminal damage charges and an allegation of escaping from lawful custody attracted no additional penalty. The court also imposed a 15-year restraining order. Sarah explained how she’d initially met Gillham on Facebook, where he claimed he was struggling and in need of a place to stay. She had just lost her mum and split from her partner, and said she wanted to be able to help someone. “We've all been struggling before, and I’ve got a spare room in my house,” she said. “There was nothing sexual in it. I thought he looked and seemed okay. It was for just a week, but I wasn’t thinking right. “I’m embarrassed to admit it; he played me and he saw my vulnerability.” However, what was supposed to be one week then became three. Sarah says she discovered that Gillham had gone through her personal belongings, selling her watches and taking money without her knowing. She added: “He had kept himself to himself. I was at a stage where any company was good company, regardless. “I didn't think anything of it until my sister came around and told me that he was really odd. He was very manipulative.” Sarah says that she has struggled with mental health issues since the attack and her life has been on hold. “It’s awful when you have to sit and listen to it in court,” she said. “It just plays on my mind every single day. I’ve had to wait so long. “No daughter should have to watch her mum be bandaged up from burns. If he comes out, he will kill someone. He’s just got that mentality.”
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