Woman, 37, left 'badly shaken' after thug with 'strong body odour' attacked her in Livingston

The unprovoked attack left the woman with only minor injuries, but she was left badly shaken.

A thug with strong body odour who targeted a woman in a terrifying early morning attack is being sought by police.

The victim was walking to work around 7.15am on Friday when she was attacked in Firth Road, near to the Houston Industrial Estate in Livingston.

The 37-year-old was on a path north of playing fields near to the Craigswood sports centre and at the rear of the Mitsubishi factory when the man jumped out at her. He assaulted her and when she tried to fight him off he ran away in the direction of Craigswood.

The victim was walking to work around 7.15am on Friday when she was attacked in Firth Road, near to the Houston Industrial Estate in Livingston. Pic: Google Maps

Police Scotland said the suspect is described as around 5ft 8ins and had a strong body odour.

Detective Inspector Nick Brookfield said: “This was an unprovoked attack, and although the woman received only minor injuries, she is badly shaken. These kinds of attacks will not be tolerated and we are conducting extensive enquiries to find who is responsible.

“The area near to where this attack took place would have been busy early in the morning and I would appeal to anyone who may have been driving around the time of the assault to look and see if they have any dash-cam footage.

“We would also like to speak to anyone else in the area before and after the attack to get in touch if they saw something suspicious on the road, along the path and near the playing fields and sports centre.

“Anyone with information should call Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident 0556 of Friday, 22 November. Or make a call anonymously to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”