A 30-YEAR-old woman has been sexually assaulted as she walked home.

Police said the woman was assaulted after she was pushed against the wall of an alleyway in Wilton Street, Burnley, when a man stepped out of a back yard and grabbed her arm.

The man ran off towards Briercliffe Road when she managed to call police.

Officers said the woman had been approached by a man before the attack at 7pm on Saturday who appeared to have been watching her as she walked towards Salus Street after leaving a house on Wilton Street.

Then around 1am another woman called police after she was approached by a man in Hillingden Road, Burnley.

Police are investigating whether the two incidents are linked.

The woman said she was followed by an Asian man who asked her where she lived. She told him she was ringing the police. He then walked off.

Police appealing for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward.

The man in the first incident has been described as Asian, aged between 30 to 40, and around 5ft 11ins to 6ft tall. He is of large build with a very flat nose and spoke with a local accent.

The man in the second incident is described as Asian, around 5ft 7ins tall, of medium build, aged in his early 30's. He had short dark hair with a parting to the side, slightly slipped back and raised at the front. He was clean shaven and spoke with a local accent.

He was wearing bright baggy trousers and a tunic which came to his knees. He also was wearing a black jacket.

DC Neil Scholes, from Pennine CID, said: “I would like to reassure people that incidents of this nature are rare and a full investigation is underway with uniformed officers in the area offering reassurance.

"I would appeal to anybody that was in the Wilton Street or Salus Street area of Burnley around 7.30pm on Saturday night that saw a man acting suspiciously or believes they may have witnessed the incident itself to come forward.”

Call Lancashire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.