>Ms Martin, then 29, noticed a group of teenagers stealing sandwiches and, seeing there was no security guard, she approached the store manager and informed them of the theft.
>The staff member said there was nothing they could do and admitted the gang raided the east London store on a near-daily basis.
>What Ms Martin did not know was that the gang had overheard her.
>Walking outside, Ms Martin, an event manager, was surrounded by the teenagers, sprayed with a drink, and when she threatened to call the police, she was punched in the face.
>Ms Martin, who was assaulted in 2015, said she has been left with ongoing health issues and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and was constantly re-traumatised during her four-year fight to receive a small amount of compensation.
>Ms Martin’s attackers have never been caught. She claims the Metropolitan Police showed “little concern” and that Tesco claimed CCTV footage of the incident had been “lost in a technical error”.
>She said: “The punch left me with permanent scarring, breathing problems, and the need for two operations on my eye and nose, plus another still pending after 18 months on an NHS waiting list.
>“The physical injuries were only the start. I was diagnosed with PTSD, yet NHS mental health support has been a mirage: goalposts moved, waiting lists closed, and promises broken.”
>Ms Martin sought compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) in 2017, but her claim was initially rejected, forcing her to go through two tribunal hearings.
>Six years after the assault, in June 2021, she was finally awarded £3,480.