A woman walking her daughter through North Oxford was threatened and attacked in an attempted robbery.

At about 4.45pm yesterday, the woman and her daughter were approached by a man in Norham Road.

The man assaulted the woman, aged in her forties, and demanded that she hand over her purse. The girl, aged 12, started to shout, making the man run away towards Banbury Road.

Police said the offender was about 6ft tall, aged in his late twenties, with dark, heavy eyebrows. He was wearing a black bomber jacket, dark jeans, a woollen hat and had a light coloured scarf covering his face.

Det Con Dave Rogers said: “Thankfully the man didn’t manage to steal anything from the victims, but this was obviously a very frightening experience for them.

“I appeal to anyone who has seen a man matching this description in the North Oxford area acting suspiciously, or saw the crime take place, to contact police immediately.”

Anyone with information that could assist police enquiries is urged to contact Det Con Rogers via the Thames Valley Police Enquiry Centre on 0845 8 505 505. If you don’t want to speak to police and don’t want to leave your name contact the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.