Woman assaulted and robbed in Lancaster after trying to help man lying on the floor

At 10.45pm yesterday (December 22) the victim – a woman in her 30s – was walking down Ffrances Passage and onto Penny Street when she saw a man lying on the floor. When she went over to help him a woman began to shout abuse at her before punching and kicking her and stealing her handbag. The suspect then ran down Ffrances Passage with the victim’s handbag.

Although a number of enquiries have been carried out, nobody has been arrested at this stage and reassurance patrols have been increased in the area as a precaution.

DC Chelsey Gentle, of Lancaster CID, said: “This was a shocking attack on a woman who came to the aid of a man who appeared to be unresponsive on the floor. For her kindness the victim was met with an appalling level of violence. Thankfully she was not seriously injured. Although she has, understandably, been left extremely shaken by what happened.

“We have carried out a number of enquiries at the area and although we don’t have a clear description of the suspect at this stage, I know there were a number of people in town at that time who would have either witnesses the attack or seen a woman running away. If you were in the area at that time and saw anything suspicious or captured any footage which could assist our investigation, then I would ask you to contact police as soon as possible.”

Email [email protected] or call 101, quoting log 1397 of December 22, 2022.