'I've been shot – I hope it doesn't ruin my new hairdo': 92-year-old heroine threw herself in front of crazed gunman as he blasted three in salon

Pensioner tried to protect hairdresser from her ex-husband Darren Williams

Gunman found dead in the woods after being on the run for five hours

OAP feared injury would mean medics would have to shave her head



Gunman: Darren Williams injured three Women including his wife in Newport, Wales

A heroic 92-year-old was blasted in the neck with a shotgun when she leapt in front of a gunman who opened fire in a crowded Wales hairdressers, it was revealed today.

The woman sprang into action after Darren Williams, 45, burst through the doors of Carol Ann’s Salon in Newport, brandishing the double-barrelled gun.

The courageous widow was hit in the neck as she tried to protect hairdresser Rachel Williams, 37, from the attack by her estranged husband.

She first kicked a table towards the 16-stone bodybuilder before stepping between the gunman and his intended victim as he raised the weapon.

But Darren still fired both barrels of the shotgun - hitting his wife in the leg, the pensioner in the neck and another customer in the arm – before fleeing to woodland where he was later found dead.

Neighbouring vet Peter Heathcoate told how he ran to the salon after hearing the shots fired - and helped the injured women.

Mr Heathcote said: ‘I have never seen anything like it. I did not know what I was going in to - whether people had been shot and whether they were still alive.

‘Rachel Williams was lying on the floor and the older lady had blood coming from her head.

‘She was very shocked but said she was trying to protect the woman who was shot, which is amazing.

‘She had tried to kick over a table towards him and it was still there broken on the floor.

‘The old lady was worried about where she had been shot because she didn't want surgeons to shave her hair - because she'd just had it cut.

‘Rachel was very calm and I was trying to reassure her as she was laying on the floor.

Crime scene: Armed police arrived at the scene within minutes, but the gunman had already fled

‘She told me how she had been shot in the leg and that it was her ex-husband who had come into the store.

‘The gun was right there next to me. It was an antique shotgun and looked very elaborate.’



Mr Heathcote said how his team of vet surgery staff helped to patch up the wounded women until the ambulance service arrived.

He said: ‘They did tremendously well, while so many people will run away from this type of scene they ran towards it to help.

‘The police and paramedics arrived about two minutes after this happened and the firearms police were also there very quickly.’



The brave 92-year-old, who hasn't been named, was released from Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport after being treated for the shotgun wound.

Shooting: Malpas Road, in Newport, South Wales where the 92-year-old was blasted in the neck with a shotgun by Darren Williams

Police are still investigating Williams' friends involved in hunting and shooting to discover how he managed to get his hands on the illegally-held shotgun.

Williams is believed to have used another weapon to shoot himself dead after escaping from the hairdressers salon in the attack in broad daylight on Friday afternoon.

Rachel was today still receiving treatment for her wounds at the Royal Gwent Hospital. She is stable and is expected to need plastic surgery.



Military and shooting enthusiast Williams was jailed for four months in 2004 after police discovered the ‘arsenal of weapons’ in his bedroom at their home in Newport, Gwent.

It included a stun gun, a .22 pistol, a machete, a hunting knife, cannisters of CS gas and bullets.

But Williams is believed to have kept up his interest in guns and weapons after being released from prison.

Neighbours said the couple were parting - and decided to sell the property for £129,000 because of the impending divorce.

The couple married five years ago but have lived together at the house for about ten years.



They have a son, 15, of their own and Darren has another son, 21, from a previous relationship.

At the scene: Police at the scene of a shooting at Carol-Ann's Hairstylists on Malpas Road, Newport in South Wales

An inquest is expected to be opened tomorrow by Gwent coroner David Bowen.

Mr Williams, 45, from Cwmbran, South Wales, went on the run for five hours before he was found dead in the woods.



Police have confirmed he went to the hairdressers to confront his ex-wife over their separation.

His family have now said he had been suffering in recent weeks because of the 'traumatic break-up of his marriage'.

They said he had 'desperately needed professional medical attention'.

Mr Williams was found at 8.15pm on Friday at Brynglas Woods in the Newport area.



Police said they were not looking for anyone else in connection with his death.

Superintendent Dave Johnson, local commander for Newport Police, said that Mr Williams ‘enjoyed hunting and the outdoor life’.



He said the double-barrelled shotgun that Mr Williams fired twice at the salon where his ex-wife worked had been recovered but that Mr Williams did not have a licence for it.



Anwar Ul Haq, 60, who lives above and works at Malpas Convenience Store - two doors down from Carol-Ann's Salon, said he heard about three shots and a woman in her 50's ran into his shop asking for help.

He said: 'A woman came out shouting "help, help"... she went to another shop and asked for help, in the mean time the police vans came.



'That woman was frightened, scared, she was when she came out.

