A teenage girl has told of her terror after a dart was thrown at her from a block of flats in Southend.

Elizabeth Smith, 15, was walking home with her boyfriend Mark Abbs, 20, when she felt a piercing pain in her head.

As she put up her hand to find out what was wrong, she discovered the dart sticking into her head, sparking frantic calls to the emergency services.

She said today: "It was really painful and I started screaming. My boyfriend was also really scared because he could see the dart and he was screaming as well."

She added: "I was really scared. I am still scared when I walk home because I have to walk under the windows where the dart fell from."

Luckily Elizabeth did not need stitches.

Elizabeth and her mum Marianne, 38, had only moved into the flat in Malvern Flats, off Coleman Street, three days before the incident.

Police are treating the incident, which took place around 8.30pm on Wednesday evening, as assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Anyone with information should contact Southend police on 01702 431212 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111

Published Tuesday, March 19, 2002