THE trial of two men accused of beating a young woman with a baseball bat has been abandoned because of a police blunder.

Emma Dooley feels let down by the police after they failed to supply CCTV footage of the incident as evidence to court.

The men charged with the vicious attack, which left Miss Dooley, of Warrington, unconscious in Bridge Street at 4am on June 4, were released from Warrington Magistrates Court after the case was thrown out last Wednesday.

"Why did I bother reporting it when the police have let me down?" asked Miss Dooley. "The injustice makes me angry and upset.

"I don't feel like the same person any more. It's not what has been done on the outside, it's about how I am hurting on the inside."

Since the attack the 24-year-old has been in and out of hospital being treated for sprained ankle ligaments, concussion and swelling of the face. She is due to see a facial specialist for injuries to her jaw.

She has released this photograph of her injuries to the Warrington Guardian.

The attack has left the mother-of-one a different person. She is petrified to go into the town centre at night which means she can no longer continue with her job as a bar maid.

"I used to be a socially happy girl.

"That night I'd been out for a few drinks with mates. That's all changed. When I go out with my six-year-old son to the shop or anywhere in the day I am always looking over my shoulder.

"I don't sleep at night, I'm constantly frightened.

"I just want some peace of mind. Nobody can imagine what it is like knowing that people who beat me up are still on the streets."

A further blow came when Miss Dooley was not assigned a police liaison officer and relied upon helpful' staff at the Witness Support Service instead.

Judith Edwards, spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "We can confirm the reason this case was dropped was because the CCTV footage was not supplied by the police, so we had no other choice.

"It was the third time the case had been in court awaiting the footage and had to be adjourned "At the hearing last week we did apply for an adjournment but it was turned down by the courts."

A Cheshire Police spokesman said: "There has clearly been a problem in making this CCTV evidence available to the court and this matter is now being investigated.

"In the meantime we will be undertaking an urgent review of our procedures to put safeguards in place to make sure it does not happen again."

Wayne Callaghan, aged 20, of Letham Close, Birchwood and Christopher Whitelegg, aged 20, who is serving in the Army in North Yorkshire, had been charged with possessing an offensive weapon in public and affray following the incident.