Corrie Vera to get mugged

Coronation Street's Vera Duckworth will be forced to go to hospital after a young mugger sends her flying.

11:16 18 August 2004

Coronation Street's Vera Duckworth will be forced to go to hospital after a young mugger sends her flying.

The Corrie stalwart is set to feature in a storyline that will see her and Frankie Baldwin, played by Debra Stevenson, fall victim to a mugging.

While walking along shopping, Frankie gets her bag snatched and 67-year-old Vera (Liz Dawn) springs into action.

But in trying to come to her friend's aid, Vera is knocked down and taken to hospital with a suspected broken leg, the Daily Mirror reports.

And although further tests show that the physical damage is not as bad as first thought, the trauma of the incident takes its toll on Vera.

"The police take a full statement from her and promise to keep her informed if they manage to catch the criminals who attacked her," the Mirror quotes an insider as saying.

"This helps Vera but it will be a long time before she recovers from the mental scars.

"As with real life victims, she will show signs of post traumatic stress and feel threatened when she is in a busy place or when strangers approach her."

Soap chiefs are planning to display a helpline number at the end of the episode for viewers to ring if they feel upset or concerned about real-life street crime.