Victoria Woodhall, 31, has been stabbed to death

A man has been arrested after an NHS nurse was murdered in the street as horrified neighbours heard her screams during their coronavirus lockdown.

The victim, named locally as mum-of-three Victoria Woodhall, was stabbed several times outside her home in the village of Middlecliffe, near Barnsley, South Yorkshire, on Sunday evening.

Police, paramedics and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance all attended the incident but Victoria, 31, was pronounced dead at the scene.

As the tragedy unfolded, a neighbour appealed for help on social media, claiming a woman had been killed ‘in front of people in the street’.


Mum of three Victoria Woodhall worked as an NHS nurse (Picture: Ben Lack/YappApp)

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A message on a floral tribute left in Windsor Crescent, Middlecliffe, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, where Victoria was killed (Picture: PA)

A 40-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in custody for questioning, police said in a statement.



Tributes have flooded in for Victoria, who was an operating department practitioner at Rotherham General Hospital and a keen runner.

Gareth Cowley, 33, her former husband, said their daughter was due to celebrate her 13th birthday tomorrow with her mum.

He said: ‘My daughter is in absolute bits. She was an amazing and loving mum to our daughter. I always had the utmost respect for her.’

A police forensics officer at the scene ias a man, 40, is arrested on suspicion of murder (Picture: PA)

A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said: ‘Emergency services were called to Windsor Crescent, Middlecliffe, just before 5pm, following concerns that a woman had been stabbed.

‘Sadly, the woman was pronounced dead when officers arrived at the scene.

‘The man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in custody.’

Anyone with information about what happened is asked to call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111, quoting incident 471 of 29 March when passing on information.



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