Karrien Stevens (pictured), who runs Little Diamonds nursery in Hermon Hill, London said a member of staff was stabbed

A nursery worker was left with broken ribs after she was kicked to the ground and slashed with a Stanley knife by three women chanting 'Allah will get you'.

Karrien Stevens, who runs Little Diamonds Nursery in Hermon Hill, London said a member of staff was punched, kicked and slashed with a 'Stanley knife' while on her way to work this morning.

The victim, named as Katie, was walking down Wanstead High Street, in north-east London, when she was set upon and knifed, according to her boss.

She was attacked from behind and then stabbed in the arm as her assailants chanted 'Allah', however police are not treating it as a terrorist incident.

Nearby schools sent out emails telling parents they were on 'lockdown' after the attack at about 9.30am.

The nursery boss said the victim, who is in her 30s, described the attackers as 'Asian girls'. They ran off when a man came to the rescue and walked her to her workplace.

Ms Stevens said: ‘They pulled her to the ground, punched her, kicked her. One of them pulled out a knife and cut her arm from her wrist to her elbow.’

She said the victim did not know her attackers, who fled the scene when a passer-by intervened.

The nursery worker, who was not wearing a uniform, was left ‘shocked’ by her ordeal, which lasted around 10 minutes.

The victim, 30, was walking down Wanstead High Street on her way to the nursery (pictured), when she was set upon and knifed by three 'Asian girls', according to her boss

She added the girls were 'behind her chanting the Koran, "Allah".'

Miss Stevens insisted the attack was not related to the nursery, adding: ‘There is no reason for it whatsoever. She is shaken up, she’s emotionally a bit of a wreck, they did scare her, but she is OK, she is a strong staff member.

‘When she got to work we couldn’t believe it and called the police straight away. It’s terrible, I’m absolutely horrified. You don’t expect something like this to happen on your doorstep.’

Describing the victim’s injuries, she said: ‘She was in tears and she had a cut right up her arm. Her stomach was hurting, she had marks all over her, her hair was pulled out.

‘She’s now told us she has got some broken ribs and needed stitches on her arm.’

The victim was just a few minutes from work when she was allegedly dragged to the ground and knifed

The victim, described as a white woman, was attacked by the three girls 'dressed all in black' less than 10 minutes' walk from the nursery.

Paul Ashmore, 31, a mixing and mastering engineer in South Woodford, said his fiancee and child were held on lockdown at Wanstead Church School, a 30-second walk away.

He said his fiancee called him to say the school was not allowing anyone to leave 'because there was a stabbing outside', and added that the police did not know 'where the persons who did it were'.

They were initially told it was gang-related, he said.

The 30-year-old nursery worker was attacked from behind and then stabbed in the arm as her assailants chanted 'Allah' in the quiet, leafy street (pictured)

'My instant thought was to collect my fiancee and kid and get them to safety not knowing the full extent of what was happening. But I was thinking the worst.

'I instantly, after what has been happening regarding terrorists, thought the worst and informed her I will drive up to collect them,' Mr Ashmore said

A Metropolitan Police spokesman could not confirm if the force were investigating a hate crime or whether the attackers were known to the victim.

The nursery boss described the attackers as 'Asian girls' and said they ran off when a man came to rescue and took her into work

He added that the Met's Counter Terrorism Command was aware of the assault but is not investigating 'at this time'.

Officers drove the victim around the area in an attempt to find the perpetrators but no arrests have been made.

A spokesman for the London Ambulance service said: 'We sent an ambulance crew to the scene, arriving in under six minutes.

'We treated a woman and the scene and took her to a hospital in east London.'