Leicester sex attack: Searches stepped up around play park

Further searches have been carried out around a children's play park following the attempted murder and sexual assault of a woman in Leicester.

The victim, aged in her 50s, was found badly beaten and unconscious off Cedar Road at about 04:45 BST on 3 August.

She regained consciousness on Wednesday and is now in a stable condition.

A 16-year-old boy and a man, 56, were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and sexual assault and later released.

The boy was released while inquiries continue while the man, from the Leicester area, was bailed.

Drains around Cedar Road have been examined and plants have been stripped back to recover possible evidence.

Det Insp Mark Sinski, from East Midlands Special Operations Unit Major Crime, has appealed for help in catching the attacker who has a "propensity to use extreme violence".

Hundreds of leaflets have been handed out and posters have been placed in shop windows.

"Hours of CCTV" have also been examined," said Det Insp Sinski.

Detectives have been trying to piece together the last known movements of the woman before she was "brutally attacked".

It is known she left her home address at about 00:40 BST on 3 August and was seen on cameras entering the One Stop shop in Evington Road, where she bought an energy drink and a bottle of vodka.

The force said what happened after that and before she was found remains a mystery.

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