Police have issued a warning to the public after a woman was attacked by an armed man and subjected to a sexual assault in Salford.
At around 1am on Tuesday 22 December 2015, a 22-year-old woman was walking along Lamb Lane in Salford when she was approached from behind by a man with a knife.
He put his arm around her neck and held the knife in front of her, demanding that she hand over cash.
Terrified, the woman handed over whatever cash she had, only for the offender to drag her on to some spare land between Lamb Lane and St Stephen’s Street.
He punched her twice to the face, and sexually assaulted her before pushing her to the floor and trying to undress her.
The driver of a passing car then beeped his horn, scaring the attacker off, who fled in the direction of the city centre.
The offender is described as white, between 28 and 30 years old, around 5ft 5in tall, of skinny build, short dark hair, a sharp jawline and a moustache.
He had a bar-type piercing to the top of his right ear and was wearing a dark waterproof training jacket that was zipped to the front and dark training pants.
Detective Inspector Kenny Blain said: “This is a worrying attack against a woman walking alone and one which could have turned out much worse.
“I dread to think what would have happened had the attacker not been disturbed by the passing car and ran off.
“We are treating this attack extremely seriously and would like people to be particularly vigilant when walking in the area at night.
“Obviously we would like any potential witnesses to come forward, but ultimately the safety of people in the area is of paramount concern.
“At this time, we believe this to be an isolated incident but additional officers will be deployed in this area to offer reassurance to members of the community.
“Anyone who was in the area last night, or believes they may have seen something which could assist our investigation, should contact police as a matter of urgency.”
Anyone with information is asked to call police on 0161 856 5360 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
