Witness appeal after sexual assault in Nether Stowey

We are investigating a sexual assault that happened in Nether Stowey at the weekend and urge any witnesses to please come forward.

The victim, who is a woman in her 40s, was walking along a footpath near Lime Street, known locally as Palmers Path, when an unknown man approached her from behind at about 3-3.35am on Saturday 12 October.

The offender sexually assaulted the woman, but she managed to break free and find a place of safety.

The man was described as white, no taller than 5ft 10ins, with black hair and stubble. He was said to be wearing jeans, dark brown or black shoes and a blue T-shirt.

CCTV and house-to-house enquiries have been carried out as part of our investigation.

West Somerset Neighbourhood Chief Inspector Rebecca Wells-Cole said: “Sexual assaults are traumatic incidents for any victim, and we are hugely grateful this was reported to us, so we can carry out a full investigation to identify the offender.

“We are making sure she has access to any victim support services she needs following this awful crime.”

Ch Insp Wells-Cole added: “We understand that what happened at the weekend will no doubt cause concern within the local community. We are not aware of any other similar incidents in that area in the recent past, but there is an urgent need to trace this man as soon as possible to help protect the public, which is why we are encouraging anyone with information to contact us.

“We want to reassure people living in Nether Stowey that we are proactively investigating this and carrying out extra high-visibility patrols to try to identify this man and provide reassurance.”

We would ask anyone who was in the area at the time and witnessed what happened, or may have relevant doorbell or dashcam footage, to please call 101 or contact us online providing reference number 5224269422.