Police are investigating an attempted robbery in Colchester after a woman was threatened with a knife.

The incident happened shortly before 6am on Friday, February 13 outside a One Stop store in North Station Road.

Someone wearing ski-wear approached the woman, aged in her 40s who was by her parked car, and threatened her with a knife before running off towards Castle Park.

The woman was left shaken by the incident but was not injured.

A 22-year-old man was arrested later that day on suspicion of attempted robbery but has been released on police bail until March 13 while enquiries continue.

Police are appealing for any witnesses to come forward, in particular a man who was sleeping rough in a red sleeping bag with a blue holdall, who was just a few metres from where the incident took place.

Officers are also keen to speak to two men who chased the suspect away, and a woman who walked past pulling a small suitcase.

The suspect was described as wearing an oversized off-white snowboarder type bobble hat with a pattern, potentially a pair of dark glasses, a scarf wrapped around the lower half of their face, a padded jacket or gilet that was fawn or light brown in colour, white snowboarder trousers with a black pattern on them, and white knitted Ugg-style boots with a black and red pattern.

Anyone with information should contact Colchester CID on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.