A TEENAGE girl has been raped in Farnworth.

The 16-year-old girl was walking home along Egerton Street shortly before 1.30am this morning when she was approached from behind by the offender and dragged into a nearby alleyway off Lomax Street.

The man pushed the girl to the ground and raped her before she managed to get up, run away and call the police.

She is uninjured but has been left deeply upset by her ordeal.

The offender is described as Asian, with a medium build and having dark hair.

Detective Sergeant Darren Wiggans, of Bolton CID, said: “We are at the very early stages of the investigation so I cannot go into too many details about what happened.

“However, I can reassure the community that the victim is being supported by specially trained officers and a CID inquiry is now underway.

“Incidents like this quite rightly cause some concern in the community, but I want to reassure everyone that we are treating this extremely seriously and now want to hear from anyone who may have heard or saw anything.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Bolton CID on 0161 856 5740 or independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 .