Two carers have been left terrified after they say a thug threw an 'unknown liquid' over them during an 'unprovoked attack' in a car park.
The carers say they were left with 'itching skin' for hours and were forced to take days off work after the frightening assault.
The pair were on shift in Bury in full uniform on Friday, July 10, at around 5pm and stopped off to purchase a drink at Prestwich Tesco in Valley Park Road.
The two women, aged 20 and 47, were waiting at a busy junction to leave the car park when they say they then heard a man shouting and swearing behind them.
The 20-year-old carer from Radcliffe, who wished not to be named, told the Manchester Evening News : "It was just me and my colleague in the car. I don't know what set this man off.
"We were pulling out of Tesco while on shift and he was behind us, he started beeping and swearing.
"We ignored him and drove on to a set off traffic lights where we stopped again."
Suddenly, the man appeared alongside the carers' car. He threw a liquid from a bottle through the open window at the pair sat inside, said the 20-year-old.
"The window was half down at the time, it was a warm day. We got to the lights and the next minute, we turned around and this liquid - whatever it was - had been just thrown all over me, my colleague and my car," said the Radcliffe carer.
"It nearly caused me to crash into a bus. Of course, you don't expect something like that to happen - it shocked me - so I started turning away and a bus was coming towards us.
"It could have been even more serious if we were any closer to that bus."
The carers believe the incident was a case of road rage.
"It was just very unprovoked. I think he was getting mad at the amount of cars," said the community carer.
"It was very busy at the time and I wanted to be as safe as possible when pulling out of the junction. I was trying to turn out into the right-hand lane but there were loads of cars coming.
"Clearly I just wasn't moving out fast enough for him. He just sped off afterwards."
Their skin was left itching for hours, said the carer: "For the rest of the night, our skin was itching like mad.
"We were itching all night. We know it wasn't acid because it wasn't burning and we're very thankful for that but we have no idea what it actually was.
"It shook us up very much. We were shaking for the rest of our shift. The instant we got back home we had a shower and washed our clothes down.
"We were also worried because we're carers that go into people's homes and give people whatever care they need - if he spat into that liquid and had coronavirus, we could have got it and potentially passed it on."
The risk of coronavirus means the pair have had to be tested in the wake of the incident. They have also been forced to stay off work as they wait for their results.
The two carers have been working tirelessly throughout the pandemic and say they have been treated with respect by the community for their efforts - the attack was a complete shock, say the carers.
"People have been so nice to us in the last few months and then this happens. We're just disgusted and so shocked," said the Radcliffe carer.
Police are investigating the incident and are treating it as an assault, according to the carer.
"I think it will have some long-term effects on me going out driving again," she added.
"I won't be going to that Tesco in future. I don't want to run into him again."
Greater Manchester Police has been approached for comment.
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