A carer and her son have been arrested over the attack on a Birmingham widow who was assaulted in her own bed.

A 56-year-old woman and a man aged 28 were detained on suspicion of assaulting 93-year-old Emma Winnall, of Moseley.

They were arrested in an early-morning swoop on an address in Hall Green. The woman worked as a carer for Mrs Winnall and that the man being held was the carer’s son.

The arrests were made at 6.30am on Thursday, as the pensioner remained in a stable condition in hospital recovering from severe injuries.

Mrs Winnall, a mother of five and grandmother of seven, suffered wounds including a fractured skull, a broken arm and wrist and a partially severed finger in the attack at her flat in Pensby Close, Moseley.

Her family released pictures of her lying battered and bruised in a hospital bed in a bid to prick the conscience of anyone who may hold vital information.

It happened between 9pm on Monday, April 30 and 9am the next day and police were only able to interview the pensioner after she underwent emergency surgery.

But detectives said last week that the motive remained unclear as there was little evidence of anything having been stolen, no sign of a break-in and Mrs Winnall could not think of any reason why she would be attacked.

Her daughter, Joyce Blencoe, and son, John Winnall, appeared at a press conference to appeal for information to catch the culprits.

Mrs Blencoe said: “Someone out there knows who did this. Please come forward before they do it to someone else.

“To see your mum viciously beaten and covered in blood was the most horrific nightmare.

“It broke my heart that she was screaming for help and no-one came.”

At the same press conference, Det Chief Insp Sarb Johal said: “The injuries suffered by Emma were quite horrific.

“The levels of violence were shocking and we knew this was going to be a challenging investigation.”

Mr Johal said previously: “It doesn’t appear anything was stolen from the lady’s home and the interior was largely undisturbed.

“This was a truly sickening attack on a defenceless, frail lady as she slept in her own home.

“Mrs Winnall had nothing of note to steal. It was a senseless assault.”

>Next page: Birmingham-born advertising guru Trevor Beattie increases reward money

Trevor Beattie doubles reward money

The arrests came as a Birmingham-born millionaire pledged to double the reward on offer for information about the brutal attack.

Advertising guru Trevor Beattie said he would double the £5,000 on offer from charity Crimestoppers for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

He spoke as West Midlands Police stressed its investigation into the attack on Mrs Winnall would continue despite the arrests.

The arrests came as a result of “routine police inquiries” rather than a public tip-off.

Mr Beattie said: “My mum died when she was 87 and would not be far off Mrs Winnall’s age now.

“We are matching the £5,000 offered by Crimestoppers and have launched a formal partnership with them. I have discovered more about this impressive charity and this link-up will be the first of many in the future.”

He offered the cash from his Jack and Ada Beattie Foundation, founded last November in the names of his late parents.

“We are a family foundation and we have been appalled by this case,” Mr Beattie said. “We grew up close to where this happened and it has touched us all.

“The three funding priorities for the foundation focus on helping to provide dignity, freedom and sanctuary. This crime was an attack on those principles.”

Mr Beattie is well-known for his donations to good causes.

In 2009 he helped bankroll trips for every single Midland veteran of the 1944 Normandy landings.

More than 800 old soldiers from across the UK returned to the beaches for the 65th anniversary with funding coming from Mr Beattie and his friend, Eddie Izzard.

He also paid for three private jets for a smaller party of 20 veterans, relatives and friends from Walsall.

In 2010 Mr Beattie fought an unsuccessful campaign to keep a Black Country care home open.

He pledged £80,000 to maintain Underhill House, which was home to a number of residents, including 106-year-old Louisa Watts, but the offer was rejected by Wolverhampton Council.

He also paid £2,000 for a Titanic mailbag at a 2009 auction – and promptly returned it to the seller, then the only living survivor of the disaster, Milvina Dean.

More information about the foundation is available at www.beattiefoundation.com.

Mr Beattie, grew up in Balsall Heath and studied at Moseley Art School. He shot to fame with the “Hello Boys” Wonderbra campaigns and the controversial FCUK rebrand of clothes chain French Connection.

He now runs his own advertising agency, Beattie McGuinness Bungay, with his former colleagues at the TBWA/London agency, Andrew McGuinness and Bill Bungay.

* Anybody with information about the attack on Mrs Winnall is urged to call Crimestoppers, in confidence, on 0800 555 111.