Jogger assaulted by a man described as ''Asian''

A woman who was indecently assaulted while running in a Nottingham street says she has received 'hundreds' of messages from people who have had similar experiences.

The runner, who did not wish to be named, was indecently assaulted around 6.30pm on Tuesday, October 3, by a man in Claremont Road, Sherwood Rise.

She told the Post that she was "grabbed" by the man and then posted information online about what happened to warn others.

The keen runner was encouraged to report the incident to police as she received messages from others who had experiences similar incidents.

Nottinghamshire Police said they are treating the incident as a "misogynistic hate crime".

Speaking to the Post, she said: "I was heading up Claremont Road. I saw this guy coming towards me and to be honest he was very unremarkable. As we got level he grabbed me basically.

"I was quite shocked. Quite a lot of times you get shouted at or leered at when you’re out running, but not normally grabbed. I carried on running for a second or two and then I started shouting at him.

"People have given me so much support. I’ve had hundreds of messages of support. The really good thing to come out of this is to realise that we live in a really nice community and that there are some really lovely people about.

“I also got some messages from women who have experienced similar or worse.

"And because I got those messages I decided that I would report it. I probably wasn’t going to. It clicked in my head how serious it is and how important it is to report it so the police can spot any patterns."

She added: "To even consider not reporting it like I did shows that you are worried if people will believe you and the fact they did makes a difference.

“I hope it encourages others to report it."

Local running clubs said incidents like this are happening "more frequently".

Sharon Cairney, secretary of the Notts Women Runners, a local running club, said: "We do have an incident form which people can use to report incidents.

"This is how we know it is happening more frequently. We encourage people to report it to the police and fill in an incident form."

She encouraged more runners to report crimes to the police, adding: "People think it wastes the police's time because they did not get hurt."

Des Oldham runs for the Southbank Running Club, in West Bridgford.

He said some women at the club prefer to run in groups as they feel "a little bit safer".

"Personally I used to run with a girl on Friday mornings and the amount of white van men pipping [was surprising]. We made a joke about it. But that kind of thing does happen."

A Nottinghamshire Police spokesman said: "Police are investigating after a woman was assaulted in Claremont Road, Sherwood Rise.

"Officers want to speak to anyone who witnessed the incident, in which the woman was indecently touched by a man, at around 6.30pm on Tuesday, October 3.

"The man was described as Asian, six ft-tall, slim, aged around 30 and had a bald patch on his head.