A student knocked unconscious by muggers on mopeds is making a remarkable recovery after two weeks in a coma, her mother said yesterday.

Jane Gauntlett recently walked for the first time since falling from her bicycle during the attack and suffering head injuries. Doctors feared that she would be left with brain damage, if she survived at all.

The three men on two mopeds snatched her handbag from the back of her bike, in Paddington Green, West London, a month ago, making off with her bank cards and mobile phone. But yesterday Miss Gauntlett’s mother, Belinda Gauntlett, said it was hoped that her daughter would make a full recovery. She appealed for anyone with information to contact the police.

A reconstruction of the attack was shown on Crime-watch last night.

Mrs Gauntlett told the BBC programme: “It is every mother’s worst nightmare to get a telephone call saying their child is unconscious and critically ill in hospital.

“Jane suffered an unprovoked attack in broad daylight. The attackers left her unconscious in the street after taking all of her personal identification and nearly taking her life.

“There are people in London who know the youths who did this. Friends and family of the attackers may have their suspicions. For parents, making decisions for or about your own children can be very difficult. But if you know who attacked my daughter I would beg you to come forward and contact the police. I would hate for anyone else to go through what we have been through.

“My daughter is strong and brave and has started the journey to recovery. She has received a huge amount of support from her friends and family. We all hope that she will be able to enjoy freedom and independence.”

Miss Gauntlett was riding a purple mountain bike. The black leather handbag was attached to a basket on the back of her bicycle.

Police believe that the three white male suspects may have struck twice on the same day. After Miss Gauntlett was attacked, a silver moped deliberately collided with another, and the rider, a 52-year-old businessman, was robbed. Police think that there may have been more robberies or attempted robberies that day, which have not been reported.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Roycroft, who is leading the investigation, said: “Jane was a totally innocent victim who was going about her normal business when she was robbed, leaving her fighting for her life in hospital.”

He said that police wanted to talk to a woman who was sitting in a café and a black man who stopped to talk to officers about the attempted robbery.

Eight men, aged between 16 and 22, have been arrested in connection with the investigation. All have been bailed pending further inquiries.

— A woman who was thought to be brain dead after being hit by a police car racing to a 999 call is now able to speak ( Marcus Leroux writes).

Linda Donaldson, 55, a mother of three from Newcastle upon Tyne, was struck by the car as it sped to a shop where teenagers were reported to have stolen soft drinks. She was not expected to survive more than a few weeks after the accident in 2002. She spent two years in a coma.

Her husband, John, said that the improvement in her condition proved that people believed to be brain dead should not be allowed to die. “I can see the old Linda I knew slowly coming back,” he said. “I was at the stage where I wished she had died. It was so hard seeing her lying there, with no response whatsoever. She had to have everything done for her.

“If someone was in the same position now as we were four years ago, I would just tell them never to give up.”

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