DETECTIVES are appealing for witnesses to an early morning mugging in which a woman was attacked.

The 58-year-old was dragged into bushes near Congleton Park as she was walking to work on Monday.

She screamed, causing her attacker to race off on a mountain bike into the park.

The woman was not injured but very distressed, and a passer-by who went to help her was able to provide a description of the attacker.

"We are treating this incident very seriously because of the nature of the attack," said Sgt Chris Pyatt from Congleton Police.

"We don't know if it was sexually motivated or if he intended stealing something from the woman."

The woman was attacked at 6.30am as she walked along Brook Street towards Congleton just past the park entrance.

The man grabbed her from behind and pulled her into bushes near the entrance.

A 25-year-old man ran after the attacker into the park and over the bridge, but lost sight of him near the bowling green.

The attacker is white, 30 to 40 years old, and of medium build. He wore a dark blue bomber-style jacket, blue jeans and black woollen hat.

His mountain bike had chrome suspension forks at the front, and a fluourescent logo on the top tube.

Witnesses are asked to ring Congleton CID on 271144.