A YOUNG mother who was repeatedly hit with a baseball bat in a 'racist' attack said she has been left too scared to go out at night.

The woman, who lives in Colne, is waiting for an operation to pin the bones in her left arm after she was attacked by an Asian man.

She said she is too scared to go out alone and is back home by 7pm every night.

She is also unable to care for her three-year-old daughter properly.

The woman, who did not want to be identified, was walking along North Valley Road near the KFC restaurant with her boyfriend on Friday August 3, when a red car pulled up.

Two men got out and chased her boyfriend away and one returned to the car for a baseball bat.

She was beaten with the bat in what the police called a frenzied attack'. The 23-year-old said: "He came back, got into the car, got the baseball bat and started attacking me.

"He started whacking me, hitting me six or seven times.

"I put my arm up to protect my body and face and he kept hitting me. I swung my cardi at him to stop him. I was terrified, I did not expect it, especially because I am a girl."

The attacker then returned to the car and drove off.

The woman, who suffers from epilepsy, was taken to Burnley General Hospital after her boyfriend returned and workers at KFC called the police. A cast was put on her broken and swollen left arm but she still needs to undergo an operation to have it pinned.

The housewife said she cannot look after her daughter and needs helps dressing herself.

She said: "I am still scared in case they come back to get me.

"I have to have someone with me and I will not go anywhere by myself. I make sure I am home by 7pm.

"It was a racist attack because they were shouting racial abuse at me."

The woman is scheduled to have the operation later this week.

Sergeant John Fryer, of Colne police, said: "This couple and the group of men in the car had argued a few minutes before the attack, but they did not know each other.

"It's shocking that a man would attack a woman like that. It's a cowardly attack and we are looking for the offender. It is of particular concern to us that we find these men quickly."

Police are conducting ownership inquiries into the car after the couple took the registration number down. No one has been arrested in connection with the incident.

Anyone with information about the attack can call police on 01282 425001, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.