Police have revealed that the man who raped a woman at the weekend may have been in the area for up to three hours.
The woman, 40 was walking along Merksworth Way, Paisley at around 2.20am on Sunday 27th November 2016 when she was approached by a man who pushed her to the ground and raped her.
After the attack, she managed to get help from the residents of a nearby house and police were called.
The victim was taken by ambulance to the Royal Alexandra Hospital where she was treated and released.
Police have asked members of the public to cast their minds back and consider whether you may have seen a man matching the above description lurking in the area (description below).
The victim left the town centre and was on Love Street around 1.20am. Police want to hear from anyone who was in or around Love Street around that time.
Someone may have seen the woman walking alone or something suspicious and may not have realised that it might be significant.
The man is described as white, 5 ft 7, well-built, with dark spiky hair and an Eastern European accent. He was wearing a dark hooded top with the hood up and jeans.
Detective Inspector Louise Harvie from the Public Protection Unit based at Renfrew said: “A dedicated team of detectives are carrying out extensive enquiries at the scene as well as within Paisley Town Centre to find the person responsible for this horrendous attack as quickly as possible.
“From the CCTV footage examined so far, I believe the suspect may have been in Paisley Town Centre in the hours before the incident took place.
“If you were in Paisley Town Centre on Saturday night please cast your mind back and consider whether you may have seen a man matching the above description. We also know that the victim made her way home from the town centre and was on Love Street around 1.20am. Were you near to Love Street around that time? Did you see a woman walking alone or anything suspicious? No matter how trivial you think your information may be, please come forward and ensure we can establish the full circumstances of this incident.
“Thankfully incidents of this nature are extremely rare, but I can fully understand that members of the public are concerned. We have additional patrols in the area and our specialist team of detectives are following a number of positive lines of enquiry in relation to tracing the individual involved.
“Anyone with information is asked to contact officers at the Public Protection Unit based at Renfrew via 101. Alternatively you can call CRIMESTOPPERS on 0800 555 111 where details can be given in confidence.”