The manager of a Bury St Edmunds pub in which a woman was attacked with a “noxious” substance at the weekend has said she is “shocked and upset” by what has happened.

The victim, who police say was not the intended target, has temporarily lost sight in one eye following the incident in The Glad Abbot in Glastonbury Road at around 11pm on Friday.

Two men, one wearing a hooded top and one wearing a baseball cap, entered the pub and threw a liquid from a bottle, which hit a woman aged in her 30s in the face.

A spokeswoman for Suffolk Constabulary said: “Officers are not treating the incident as a random attack, however the victim is not believed to have been the intended target.”

The victim was treated at the scene by East of England ambulance staff and then taken to hospital.

The police spokeswoman said the woman had “temporarily lost the sight in one eye and is receiving further medical attention”.

Work is underway to determine what the substance, described by police as “noxious”, was.

The manager of the pub, who does not want to be named, said: “We want everyone to be happy and safe. There has never been any trouble in the pub before. Police have never had to attend.

“We are really shocked and upset for the victim, who doesn’t want to be called a victim. She’s been really strong, she has been incredibly brave and we are supporting the police with all their inquiries.

“We are just really shocked and upset and we don’t want anything to happen again.”

At just after 10pm on the same evening, police received a number of calls that two vehicles were driving dangerously in Out Risbygate and Newmarket Road in Bury St Edmunds.

It was reported that two cars, thought to be a blue Ford Fiesta and a Vauxhall Insignia (possibly a white or silver estate), were driving in a dangerous manner and were colliding with each other.

Officers are looking at possible connections between this incident and the attack in The Glad Abbot.

Witnesses to either incident or anybody who has any information are asked to call police 101 quoting reference 62635/17.

Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or through its anonymous online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.