Nicole Dwyer before the life-changing attack that left her with severe injuries

A 20-year-old woman who suffered horrific face injuries when she was attacked with a hatchet was discharged from St James' Hospital yesterday and was being cared for by her family last night.

Nicole Dwyer had her jaw smashed and will be left scarred for life after she was viciously struck with a hatchet as she slept on a sofa on Monday night.

After undergoing facial surgery, she was recovering at her sister Jenna's home in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, last night but she is facing months of treatment to her horrific facial injuries.

PAIN

"She is still in a lot of pain. Her face is more swollen and bruised now than it had been on other days.

"Her eyes, jaw and chin are all very swollen and she is on painkillers. She has to go back to the hospital in Wexford tomorrow but she is happy to be back home," Jenna told the Herald.

"All our family and friends are still very upset and hurt about what happened to Nicole but she is being very brave about it all," she added.

The victim's jaw was broken in two places, a number of her teeth were knocked out and she required 50 stitches to her face in the attack.

Gardai have arrested and interviewed the chief suspect in the case who claims that he did not intend to hurt Nicole in the shocking incident.

The violent attack happened at a house in The Green, Clonard, shortly after 5pm on Monday. A crazed local criminal stormed the property and demanded €400 that he claimed was owed to him by a person known to Nicole.

She was asleep and had a duvet wrapped around her as the criminal, who is from Wexford town, demanded the cash.

An argument between the two men started and the raider who was armed with the hatchet threatened to remove a TV from the house as "collateral" for the alleged €400 debt.

When the man objected to the TV being removed, it is alleged that the suspect swung his hatchet on the couch and hit Nicole straight in the face causing her horrific injuries.

She had been sleeping throughout the earlier altercation and was wrapped in a duvet when she suffered the full brunt of the hatchet attack.

After realising what he had done, the 23-year-old suspect ran from the property and dumped the hatchet in nearby wasteland and this was later recovered by gardai shortly after the suspect was arrested.

offences

Even though the suspect has convictions for mainly minor offences, the Wexford town man has been causing major concern for gardai.

It emerged last night that he had connections with a dangerous family-based gang from the Adamstown area of the county who were the subject of numerous armed garda operations.

Some members of this mob are serving lengthy jail sentences in relation to serious assaults and other offences.

The hatchet attack man is said to "look-up" to these criminals but a source who knows him pointed out: "This fella is no criminal mastermind that is for sure."

kfoy@herald.ie