Appeal after serious sex attack in Stourbridge
A woman was sexually assaulted as she walked close to a park in Stourbridge.
Police have launched an investigation and cordoned off an entrance to Mary Stevens Park after the attack.
The woman was in Norton Road, near the BP petrol station, at around 3.15am on Sunday when she was grabbed by a man and assaulted.
Police said the woman bravely fought back and the attacker – said to be a white male with a bald head believed to be in his 30s – made off in a black hatchback car.
The investigation was ongoing as thousands of families walked past the scene to attend a family fun day at the park.
Sergeant Stuart Platt, from West Midlands Police's Public Protection Unit, said the victim has provided a good description of the man and the car.
He is urging anyone who believes they may know the offender to get in touch.
He said: “The woman was near an alleyway, just past the BP garage, when she was grabbed and forced onto a grass verge.
“She’s told us the car had distinctive alloy wheels, tinted windows and a loud exhaust.
“If anyone knows a white man, with a bald head, who has access to a black hatchback car matching that description, then I would ask them to make contact.”
Resident Esther Andrews-Wood was shocked to hear that something like this could happen so close to home.
The 43-year-old said: “To have this happen so close, and by the park, which is so family orientated, is a shock.
“It’s not expected around here, nothing to this extent has happened here.
“I saw the police cordon at the park entrance around 9.30am.
“It’s just a shock to process it, especially having a daughter myself.”
Cordon
A resident, who wished to stay anonymous, said: “It’s awful.
“We didn’t hear or see anything but it’s horrible to hear what’s happened.
“The park is a great place to have here and it’s not nice to have this happen nearby.”
Grassmere Drive, which sits between the alleyway and the cordoned off park entrance, was also cordoned off throughout the morning.
One resident, living on the private road, said: “We didn’t see or hear anything, but we were woken by the police around 5.15am to say they were cordoning off our road, and they opened it again around 9am.
“You don’t expect this here, it was a real shock to wake up to police at the door, and a big shock to hear what’s happened, it’s a nice area.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact West Midlands Police by calling 101 and quoting crime number 20DY/136095N/19.
Alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111; callers won’t be asked for their names and calls cannot be traced.
