Brittany Merrick was attacked from behind on Boxing Day night and woke up covered in blood.

Brittany Merrick says she can’t remember the details of the Boxing Day attack, which left her unconscious and now, swollen and covered in bruises.

“I actually came to hearing my flatmate scream, it was such a horrible, horrible scream,” Ms Merrick told Fairfax.

“I could feel something wet on my skin but I couldn’t open my eyes, it didn’t take me long to work out it was blood.”

The 22-year-old and her flatmate, Brittany Norris, were on a night out in Newcastle, when the pair allegedly fell victim to an unprovoked attack by a man they had met through friends.

Shaun Rudder, 26, allegedly spat in Merrick’s face at a nightclub in the Hunter Valley before she pushed him over and both parties were ejected from the club.

Walking home, she says she received a series of text messages from him, one which said “behind you”, before being attacked in the street.

The Newcastle Local court heard that Rudder first knocked Norris to the ground, before repeatedly punching Merrick in the face, leaving her unconscious and with a probable fractured jaw.

She spent the night in the John Hunter Hospital, but is now recovering at home with her boyfriend.

Merrick posted a disturbing photo of her injuries on her Facebook page, which was shared almost 16,000 times.

Charged with two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, Rudder was granted bail in court, prompting an angry backlash from social media users.

“I couldn’t imagine the pain, struggle, confusion, disbelief and every other emotion your [sic] feeling right now,” one user wrote.

“It’s all a bit shocking,” Ms Merrick told Fairfax.

“I didn’t think it would be shared that many times let alone the things people are saying.”