11 April 2011 Last updated at 09:51 ET

Woman, 20, raped while walking from Newmilns to Darvel

A 20-year-old woman has been raped while returning from a night out with friends in East Ayrshire.

The woman left a bar on Main Street, Newmilns, to walk home to Darvel, at 0045 BST on Sunday, when she was approached by a man who attacked her.

She was found in a distressed state by a passer-by at 0125 BST but did not require hospital treatment.

Police appealed for anyone in the area at the time to contact them. There is no description of the male attacker.

Det Sgt William McDicken, from Strathclyde Police, said: "From our inquiries, so far, we know that the young woman had left the bar about 0045 hours and then was found by a passer-by in an extremely distressed state around 0125 hours.

"She had been out with friends at a local bar and was heading home for the night when she was assaulted.

"There is only a short distance between the towns of Newmilns and Darvel and the route is well used by locals either walking or in the car.

"I have no doubt that someone would have passed the man and woman, possibly in a car, but maybe did not realise what was going on."

Det Sgt McDicken said officers had been checking CCTV images and conducting doing door-to-door inquiries.