A RAPE inquiry is continuing today after a woman who had been out walking a dog was attacked at a home in east Ipswich.

Residents have described their shock after a woman in her 20s was raped at an address in Melville Road in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Police received a call just after 7am on Saturday from a member of the public who reported that they were with a woman in a distressed state.

The woman told officers she had gone out to walk a dog around 3am. While she was out, she noticed a man and he followed her back to a property where he put his foot in the door and forced his way in. He then raped her before leaving.

Since the incident police have carried out a forensic examination of the property and door to door inquires in the area.

Meanwhile, residents in Melville Road have described their shock at the news.

One resident, who asked not to be named, said: “It was quite a shock to see police milling about in the street – I had no idea what was going on.

“This is a pretty quiet street most of the time. To hear that someone was raped inside a house is pretty horrendous.”

Another said: “I saw police officers carrying out door to inquiries and realised something serious must have happened.

“It’s normally a quiet area and I can’t remember hearing any disturbances on the night of the incident.”

The attacker is described as white, with a dark complexion, 20 to 30 years old, of average height, wearing dark coloured clothing, and with short dark messy hair.

He was clean shaven and spoke with a deep foreign accent – described by the victim as being similar to Russian or Polish.

He also had a tattoo on his upper arm from his shoulder to elbow in what has been described as a ‘tribal’ design.

Officers are continuing to ask anyone who may have been in the area between 11.30pm on Friday night, March 4, and 7.10am on Saturday morning to call Ipswich CID on 01473 613500.