A 36-year-old woman has become the latest person to be attacked in a notorious stretch of woodland in Thetford.

The woman was walking in the wooded area near the St John’s Estate after dark on Sunday when she was approached from behind by a man who grabbed her and tried to pull her backwards.

She managed to struggle free and ran home before raising the alarm.

The incident took place between 10.15pm and 10.20pm as she walked past the junction with Canterbury Way.

The attack is the fourth to take place in the woods since August.

On August 4, at around 7.20am, a woman was pulled by the hair by a man who was trying to take her handbag.

A month later, on September 10, a 16-year-old girl was indecently assaulted in the woods after being approached by three men and having her phone knocked out of her hand.

On September 17 muggers struck again, violently assaulting a woman in her twenties as she walked through the woods.

The victim was elbowed in the ribs by a single male attacker who was trying to take her handbag.

She managed to escape after struggling free.

There were attacks in the woods the previous year – one leaving a woman in her 50s with bruises after being attacked by two men.

The string of attacks prompted a warning from police in September.

A police spokesman repeated a plea for caution by walkers in the light of Sunday’s attack.

She said: “We would advise people to consider their personal safety while out and about.

“This includes staying aware of your surroundings, sticking with friends and avoiding shortcuts down alleyways and unlit areas at night.”

Police are keen to hear from anyone who may have witnessed the incident or noticed a man acting suspiciously in the area around the time of Sunday’s incident.

Witnesses or anyone with information should contact Pc Chris Kay at Thetford police station on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.