A TEENAGER was pushed up against a garage door in an alleyway and indecently assaulted as she headed home from a night out with friends.

She escaped by hitting her attacker in his windpipe and knocking him to the floor.

The attack happened at 1.30am on Sunday in the alley connecting Bath Street with Ullswater Road, Lancaster, just after the 19-year-old had left a taxi.

Police say she saw the man approaching and tried to avoid him but he got in front of her and forced her against a garage door before indecently assaulting her.

"She reacted very bravely by hitting him in his windpipe and performed a leg sweep, causing him to fall to the floor," says DS Mark Salisbury. "He then ran from the scene. It is possible he has a hand injury because he was looking at his hand when he was running."

The woman recalls the man bumping into her several times in Liquid nightclub earlier that evening.

Police are checking CCTV footage and appealing for information on the attacker who is described as white, in his 30s, six-feet-two inches tall, and stocky with wide shoulders. He has a large stomach with a tattooed right forearm and dark, closely shaven hair.

The man, who had a local accent, was wearing a white shirt with broad blue cheques and navy trousers.

Call DC Neil Smith at Lancaster Police on 01524 63333 to help.