Help find men who savagely attacked our mum By RORY REYNOLDS Published on Sunday 1 April 2012 00:00 THE daughter of an elderly woman who was savagely attacked in her own home has made an emotional appeal for help to catch her attackers. Mary Coulter was beaten and slashed by four armed men who broke into her house in North Lanarkshire in the early hours of Thursday 22 March. Yesterday her daughter, Helen Coulter, urged anyone with information to get in touch with police. Speaking at a press conference at Strathclyde Police headquarters in Glasgow, she said: "Our mum, Mary Coulter, is a strong and wonderful person. She is a loving great-grandmother who is dearly loved by all her family. She lives for her family. She is well known and liked in the local community. Just over a week ago our 76-year-old mum was brutally attacked within her own home. Mum is a defenceless, elderly woman who has never hurt anyone: now she is severely scarred for the rest of her life. We can't understand why anyone would carry out this cowardly attack. If you know who is responsible for this horrific and senseless attack on Mum, or if you have any information, please do the decent thing. This has devastated the family. Mrs Coulter, who remains in hospital, is the mother of Ronnie Coulter, 43, and grandmother of Andrew Coulter, 30, who were cleared of killing waiter Surjit Singh Chhokar in 1998. However, detectives do not believe there is any link between the attack on Mrs Coulter and the Chhokar case, and added that the evidence suggests she was not the group's intended victim. The men who carried out the attack on Mrs Coulter kicked in the door and began their assault without saying a word. They broke both her arms and slashed her with a blade, leaving deep lacerations on her face. The grandmother-of-six, who lives alone, was pounced upon in the hallway of the property in Overtown, near Wishaw, at about 5.20am. The attack continued after she tried to escape on to the street, and only ended when neighbours were alerted by her screams. Detective Inspector John Lamb said he was "almost speechless" at the level of violence Mrs Coulter had been subjected to. A long-bladed weapon, possibly a machete, was used, and what is understood to be a bat. Lamb, who is leading the investigation, added: "It took quite a few days before we could actually get first-hand contact with Mary, but family liaison officers have now been well-bedded. They have seen her on two or three occasions and she has been responding very well. I think you could say, while she was very, very serious, she is now as well as can be expected and is improving daily. He said that because the incident happened very early in the morning, it was less likely there would be any witnesses, and he made a direct appeal to the families of the attackers to come forward with information. He added: "You've seen the injuries, you've listened to the family. Please do the decent thing and help us. Lamb also appealed for the occupants of a white van, parked in nearby Gourlay Drive at the time, to come forward. He said the motive for the attack was "still up for debate," but ruled out any attempted robbery. One possibility is that the attack was random and that those involved were under the influence of drugs. Superintendent Andy McKay, of the North Lanarkshire Division, said extra patrols have been stepped up to reassure those who live in the Overton area. He added: "The chief constable of Strathclyde Police has asked for an update on this every single morning. From him down to the officers on the street and the local community, we are all horrified by this. Crimefighting charity Crimestoppers has offered a £5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. The attackers are white men who were all either wearing hooded tops or had their faces hidden with scarves. One is particularly heavily built. All four were wearing light- coloured trainers. Anyone with information can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via crimestoppers-uk.org.