Sex attacker rapes elderly woman

An elderly woman has been raped in what police have described as a "wicked" attack at her home in Lancashire.

The woman tried to fight off her attacker and was assaulted by him at her flat in Accrington in the early hours.

Lancashire police said officers were speaking to the woman to try to get details of her attacker.

Det Ch Insp Neil Hunter said: "This is an incredibly nasty attack on a defenceless lady."

Witness appeal

Police are trying to piece together the sequence of events leading up to the offence.

The woman rang a relative at 0030 BST on Tuesday to raise the alarm about the attack.

"Throughout the day we have had specially trained officers working with the victim in a sensitive manner to piece together the sequence of events that occurred during this offence," Mr Hunter said.

"It is important that we catch the person responsible for this wicked offence and I would appeal for anyone who may have seen anybody acting suspiciously in the Wellington Court area between 1130 and 0030 BST to contact police."