A HEALTH worker on the front line of the coronavirus pandemic says she is living in fear after her car was set alight.

Mandy Edmonds was woken at 4am by firefighters alerting her to the blaze.

The 30-year-old mother, who is a nurse assistant on a hospital coronavirus ward, described it as a “spineless, gutless” attack.

“I thought it was a nightmare,” she said. “All the blue lights were flashing, the fire brigade was down my road, and my little girl was terrified.

“She is scared to be in the house and is worried if we are going to be blown up.”

Mandy said the attack has left her in thousands of pounds debt and unable to use the vehicle to look after her grandmother or get to work.

She does not know any reason why anyone would target her.

The suspected arson happened at 4am on April 25 in Queen’s Park Road, Brighton, and police have confirmed they were called to the scene of the blaze.

Mandy, who has worked as a nursing assistant for nearly six years at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, said she cannot understand why anyone would attack her property.

She said: “I got woken up at 4am, it was awful. I don’t know who would go out and do something like that in a time like this. I keep myself to myself.

“For someone to do that to my car is spineless and gutless. It’s not the first time my car has been vandalised, it has been scratched, the windscreen has been smashed, and the tyres slashed over the years.

“A lady up the road reported her car being set alight a few days before mine. It is so bad that I don’t want to live on this road any more.

“Working on the coronavirus ward has been stressful, it is the front line. This is awful as it gives me more stress and debt to pay for a car I no longer have.”

Mandy used the car to take supplies to her grandmother who raised her through a difficult childhood and who has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which puts her in the “at risk” group of catching the disease.

An effort to support Mandy has been set up online. To help, visit www.gofundme.com/f/help-a-frontline-nhs-nurse.

• Local newspapers across Newsquest are joining forces to raise money for workers at the frontline of the healthcare crisis. Please donate whatever you can, and let us give a collective, united message to our NHS workers of our huge appreciation for their efforts. You can get involved and support our campaign by sharing our appeal and telling us why you are thankful for the NHS #ThankYouNHS on social media using the link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-our-nhs-guardian-angels.