EXCLUSIVE

A WOMAN has told of the terrifying moment she thought she was going to be raped when she was attacked as she walked home alone late at night.

The 29-year-old mum, who was pounced on as she walked home from the pub in Clayton-le-Moors in the early hours of Sunday morning, says she no longer feels safe in the area and is considering moving away.

The woman, who did not wish to be named, had been drinking in the Fort Arms, in Lower Barnes Street, when she decided to leave.

She left the pub alone and made her way home - something she said she would normally feel safe to do in the town.

But as she walked along Pickup Street between 1.30am and 1.40am, she was accosted from behind by a white man in his 20s and was put through a terrifying ordeal.

She said: "I did not hear anything. The first thing I knew I had been punched in the face.

"Then I remember being dragged down a back alley and he was trying to tug at my jeans as if to pull them down.

"I was kicking but I had lost my glasses so I could not see very much.

"I just kept struggling and somehow I managed to get away."

The woman, who escaped with minor cuts and bruises, ran to her home and was joined a short time later by her partner, who had left the pub to catch her up.

She then called the police.

She said: "You never think it is going to happen to you and I don't want this to happen to anyone else."

The woman has been left extremely shaken by the ordeal and only left her house for the first time on Wednesday.

She works full-time but has been too upset to go in to work all week, although she was hoping to return for a few hours today to build her confidence back up.

Detective Inspector Joanne Lightbown, of Great Harwood CID, said officers were not certain if the attacker was intending to rape the woman.

But she advised that women should always get someone to walk with them or else take a taxi.

She said: "If you are walking alone, stick to well-lit streets, don't use back alleys.

"And don't leave yourself vulnerable by drinking too much alcohol so you have your wits about you and are aware of people around you.

"In cases like this we advise people to do what they have to to get away without antagonising the situation."

She added that rape alarms were available for purchase from police stations.

Police have appealed to anyone with information about the attack to ring CID on 01200 458741 or Crimestoppers, free and in confidence, on 0800 555111