Man pleads guilty to axe attack on woman

Anthony McDonald, 56, waited for his victim to leave work before he attacked her with an axe

A man who left a woman with life-changing injuries after attacking her with an axe has pleaded guilty to attempted murder.

Anthony McDonald, of Ascot Avenue, Cantley, Doncaster, carried out the attack in Goole town centre on 3 April.

Police described it as a "targeted attack". McDonald fled the scene, leading to a large-scale manhunt.

The 56-year-old appeared at Hull Crown Court last Thursday and is due at another hearing on Friday.

Humberside Police received multiple calls reporting a woman had been attacked with an axe

Humberside Police said McDonald had waited for his victim to leave work before following her. The subsequent attack caused life-threatening injuries to her arm and head.

She was taken by air ambulance for lifesaving surgery and remains in hospital.

After he fled the scene, McDonald rang his partner to tell them he had stabbed a woman to death.

He was arrested and the axe was found in his jacket.

Det Insp Mark Skelton said: “McDonald is a dangerous individual who subjected an innocent woman to a horrific and unimaginable attack, which left her fighting for her life in hospital."

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