A TEENAGE girl was last night subjected to a sexual assault as she walked home.

The 16-year-old victim was walking along Lovers' Walk, adjacent to The Avenue in Southampton, when the attack happened, around 11.40pm.

Prior to the attack, the girl and a friend were walking home and they used the underpass under The Avenue, near the university, and Lovers’ Walk. The pair then went their separate ways.

When the girl reached the point where the path splits into a “Y”, an unfamiliar man approached her, before carrying out the assault.

The assailant then walked off towards The Common, and the girl went to her home, where police were called.

The man is described as a slim white man in his late twenties. He has short blond hair and is 5ft 11ins tall. The man wore a dark hoodie and trousers.

Detectives want to hear from anyone who saw a man of this description walking towards or on The Common shortly before midnight Tuesday. Anyone with information is asked to contact Southampton Central CID on 101.

As a result of the attack, detectives have renewed their advice to women to avoid unlit, secluded areas at night, to be accompanied to their homes by a friend or to take a taxi home.