Teenage girl sexually assaulted by man in 'violent' attack in Burnley

A 17-year-old girl was approached from behind by a man as she was walking along the canal path from Westagate at 4pm yesterday (May 26).

As she was entering the steps adjacent to Cooper Street, the man subjected her to a violent assault before touching her inappropriately.

The victim kicked the man off before running off to get help and the offender made off back towards the canal path.

She believes a member of the public may have appeared and walked nearby at the time of the attack, prompting the man to leave.

The victim was left with numerous cuts and bruises and severe swelling to her face and shoulder, according to police.

DS Sarah Hargreaves, of Burnley Police, said: “A teenage girl has been grabbed and assaulted in broad daylight. As a result of this she has suffered some nasty injuries, as well as being left extremely shaken. Clearly we are taking this very seriously and an investigation is underway.

“We are determined to find the person responsible and are now asking for the public’s help. We believe a member of the public may have appeared and scared off the offender, and we would like to trace them and speak to them as they might hold information that is important to our investigation.

“We appreciate this will have caused some concern in the community but we are working extremely hard on this investigation and in the meantime will have extra patrols in the area for reassurance. Anybody with concerns is welcome to speak to those officers.”

Police are now urging anyone with information about the assault – including the member of the public who may have appeared on the scene – to get in touch with them as soon as possible.

The offender is described as a white male, around 5ft 8/9in tall, of average build and with dark hair.

He was wearing dark joggers and earphones.

Anyone with information is asked to get in touch with police by calling 101, quoting log number 1208 of May 26.

Alternatively, independent charity Crimestoppers can be anonymously contacted on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.