A woman was attacked by a man in a park who grabbed her from behind and tried to pull her into woods nearby.
The 35-year-old was running near to the golf driving range in Sherdley Park, St Helens, on Friday, May 20 when she was assaulted. She managed to free herself from the man's clutches as he tried to drag her into the woodland.
It is believed that when the man spotted another woman walking nearby he released her and demanded money. She told him she had no money and he walked off towards the golf club.
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Following the incident the victim spoke to the woman dog walker, who advised her to phone the police straight away. The attacker is described as a white man, about 18-years-old with a slim build and short mousey brown hair.
He was wearing a black and grey tracksuit top (possibly Northface) and spoke with a Birmingham, or similar, accent. Merseyside Police is appealing for information following the incident at around 1.45pm yesterday.
Detective Sergeant Michelle Wilson, said: "This was really frightening for the woman who was assaulted. She sustained minor injuries as a result of the assault, but was understandably shook up by the incident.
"Women should be able to go our running in a local park without fear and we are committed to finding this man and putting him before the courts. Officers will be reviewing CCTV from the area in a bid to identify the offender and local policing patrols will be in and around the park to reassure local residents and visitors to the park in the coming days.
"We would really like to speak to the woman who was walking her dog and spoke to the victim just after the incident at 1.45pm and we would appeal to anyone who was in the park who saw a man fitting the description of the offender, or who witnessed the incident to contact us."
If you have any information, please contact Merseyside Police directly via @MerPolCC on Twitter, 'Merseyside Police Contact Centre' on Facebook, or by calling 101, with reference 0539 of 20 May.
Alternatively, call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or report online at https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/for ms/give-information-anonymously. Always call 999 if a crime is in progress.
