Appeal for information following serious sexual offence in St Helens

Detectives are investigating following an allegation of a serious sexual offence in St Helens on Saturday 14 January.

At 10pm, a report was received that a woman had been walking home on Parr Stocks Road at around 9.15pm.

She was approached by a man and reportedly taken to a grassed area between the fire station and Discount Motor Parts, where the alleged offence took place.

Specialist officers have since been carrying out extensive forensic, house-to-house, CCTV and witness enquiries at the scene.

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Parry said: "The victim is being supported by specially trained officers as this investigation continues.

"We understand the concern that such serious offences cause in the community and I want to assure people we are assessing all possible evidence to establish what happened.

“I’d continue to ask that anyone who lives locally and has home CCTV or doorbell footage checks their devices between 9 and 9.30pm on Saturday. Likewise, if you were travelling in a vehicle with dashcam, please check. Parr Stocks Road is busy with cars and public transport, so any passengers of buses or taxis may have also seen something of value.”

Contact detectives via @MerPolCC or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 with reference 23000042356.

You can report a sexual offence allegation by calling 101 where you will be spoken to by specially trained officers or you can pass information to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. In an emergency, always call 999.

Merseyside Police, alongside three other forces, have also been part of a pilot project for a new service to report sexual offences online – with the option to report anonymously.

If you’ve been affected by sexual violence of any kind, support is available through the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Victim Care Merseyside service delivered jointly by two registered charities. In Liverpool, Sefton and Wirral, support is provided by Rape and Sexual Abuse Support (RASA) Merseyside who are available on 0151 558 1801 and, in St Helens and Knowsley, by the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (RASASC) Cheshire and Merseyside who can be contacted on 01925 221 546 or 0330 363 0063.

For women who have felt or feel unsafe in public spaces the Home Office has set up StreetSafe | Police.uk (www.police.uk)  for anyone to anonymously report public places where they have felt or feel unsafe, because of environmental issues, e.g. street lighting, abandoned buildings or vandalism and/or because of some behaviours, e.g. being followed or verbally abused. Please note: 'StreetSafe' is not for reporting crime or incidents.