PRESTON police are searching for a man who tried to rape an 18-year-old woman in a town centre alleyway in the early hours of Tuesday.

Lowthian Street -- the scene of the brutal attack -- was cordoned off on Tuesday (pictured) while police and support staff combed the area for clues to the attacker's identity.

Detective Inspector John Fryer, leading the investigation, said: "We carried out a forensic examination of the area and have recovered what potentially might prove to be a number of clues."

CCTV footage and video footage of the area is also being examined.

The victim had been on a night out at Squires nightclub with friends prior to the attack. She had left her friends to go to Market Street fish and chip shop. But the take-away was busy and she turned back down Orchard Street when she began to feel ill.

Det Insp Fryer added: "She spoke to two men, who said they had been into Lowthian Street to relieve themselves. She then went into the quiet back street to vomit and was approached by her attacker, who offered a comforting arm. "It is then a case of the good samaritan turning into an attacker and he forced her into a doorway and tried to rape her.

"He held his hand across her mouth and neck to stop her screaming but the victim struggled and tried to knee him in the groin. She ran off and alerted three women who were walking nearby."

Det Insp Fryer said that the attempted rape was not being linked to the attacks on female students earlier this year, but said a connection was not being ruled out. Police want to speak to the two men who spoke to the victim before the attack and anyone who saw the incident.

The girl is white, aged 18, 5ft 5ins tall but looked taller due to her high-heeled shoes. She was wearing a grey leopard-print vest top and black wide-bottomed trousers. She has short dark hair in a centre parting and was carrying an eye-catching bottle green bomber jacket and a shoulder bag.

The attacker is described as a white man in his 20s or early 30s, around 5ft 8ins, and had a prominent accent which wasn't local. His hair is light-coloured, possibly thinning and he was clean-shaven, with what is described as having 'full lips'.

He was smartly dressed in dark trousers and a light-coloured top with a collar and buttons on the front.

Anyone who witnessed the incident should contact Preston Police on 203203 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.