A 22 year old woman was subjected to a horrifying ordeal when she was indecently assaulted in Barnes last week.

The woman who lives in Barnes was on her way home from an evening out with friends in the West End.

The attack happened at Treen Avenue on Wednesday last week at 11.30pm when the woman was approached by her attacker who asked if he could walk with her.

When she told the man he was making her nervous he threw her to the ground, pushed up her skirt and indecently assaulted her.

The man told his victim he had a knife on him and if she struggled he would stab her.

Luckily her screams alerted a householder who raised the alarm and the attacker fled from the scene. The woman suffered bruising to the left side of her face, left ear and her back.

DC Mike Mantle who is leading the enquiry said: "She seems to be coping OK but it was a very traumatic event for her. She is getting a lot of support from her family. At the moment we do not have any leads we were hoping the closed circuit TV at the station may have picked something up."

Police are anxious to find witnesses to the crime and have circulated a description of the man.

He is 20 years old, five foot nine inches tall with short spiky black gelled hair and has a distinctive gap in his front teeth. He was wearing a long dark blue Addidas jacket with white stripes on the sleeves, dark trainers and jeans. He spoke with a London accent.

Call DC Mike Mantle at Richmond CID on 0181 541 1212.

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