The 'safe' 4x4 that made woman a target

Carjack victim Gloria Hamilton bought her 4x4 Mercedes jeep to make her "feel safer in town".

Instead, it turned her into a target for ruthless thugs who slammed into the back of the £50,000 car and punched her unconscious as they stole the Mercedes.

Today, employment company director Ms Hamilton, 41, is recovering in Queen Elizabeth Hospital at Woolwich after her ordeal on Friday.

Speaking from her hospital bed, she said she realised she could have been the next carjack victim after estate agent Tim Robinson was stabbed to death in Battersea two weeks ago.

She said: "All I keep thinking about is that poor man who died and I realise how lucky my children are that they still have a mother.

"The whole thing was dreadful, absolutely terrifying, though I don't remember a great deal about it." In the quiet street in Abbey Wood where she lives, neighbours spoke of their friend as "a hard worker and a model citizen" whose only mistake was to buy a big car to "feel safer".

One neighbour, who did not to be named for fear of reprisals, said that Ms Hamilton is the sort of person who would always be there to lend a helping hand.

The woman neighbour said: "Gloria even helped me get my job as a senior service manager for a charity. That's exactly what she's like - you couldn't get a better neighbour.

"The ironic thing is that she got this car about a year ago in order to feel safer. I remember her telling me that she was getting fed up with people gesturing aggressively at her when she was stopped at lights for example.

It was just the usual stupid behaviour when people, driven primarily by jealousy, see a women behind the wheel of a nice car, but it was getting worrying for her nonetheless.

"She got this 4x4 Mercedes but after it was broken into once and had two wheels taken from it on separate occasions, I told her the car must be jinxed. I never thought it would come to her being beaten unconscious for it though.

"She had even set up a CCTV camera from a window at her house to keep an eye on this car and she was considering moving from the area because of what had been going on with her car.

"Most people buy bigger cars and feel safer in them - not only protected from other cars but also from a personal security perspective. You just don't think it's going to have the opposite effect and make you a target."

Ms Hamilton, who is the mother of two boys and a girl, was also described as "a real family woman, always happy".

The neighbour added: "She kept herself to herself but she was always really friendly and was there for you if ever you needed any help."

Another neighbour who had visited Ms Hamilton in hospital yesterday described her as "a smashing person".

He said: "She's really upset by this. She's especially traumatised but she can't remember what happened after she was cut up by one car and bumped from behind by another. She can't remember being punched at all and that's what's upsetting her the most.

"She said she won't be coming home when she's released from hospital but will go to stay with relatives."

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