Woman attacked and raped in park

The attack happened at Colin Glen Forest Park

A young woman has been attacked and raped in a west Belfast park.

She was walking in Colin Glen Forest Park on Saturday afternoon when she was approached by a youth who was about 16 years old.

He walked with her for a short time then dragged her into bushes and sexually assaulted her.

It is understood the woman, who is in her 20s, was on holidays in Belfast. She is Chinese and has dark hair. Her attacker has ginger hair.

A number of people walked past the woman and her attacker before the incident. Police want to hear from them urgently.

Sinn Fein assembly member Jennifer McCann urged people to help police find the attacker.

"All of us have a responsibility to ensure, first of all, that the people who carried out these crimes are taken off the streets and face a lengthy prison sentence that reflects the seriousness of that," she said.

"We also need to ensure that parks and public areas are safe for anyone to use whether they are visitors coming into the community or people in the local community."