DETECTIVES have issued an appeal for CCTV footage after a "distressing" attempted robbery on a teenage girl Red Rocks earlier this month.

As the Star previously reported, a 15-year-old girl was attacked and an attempt was made to grab her mobile phone on Red Rocks Lane at around 5.25pm on Friday, January 7.

The victim managed to run away with her phone towards Holme Road and get help. She was uninjured but left very distressed by the incident.

Extensive CCTV and witness inquiries have been carried out by officers in the area, police say.

The offender is described as white male, between 18 and 20 years, 5ft 9in tall, medium build and chubby face with mousy brown hair.

READ MORE > Girl attacked 'out of the blue' while walking down Red Rocks

"I was walking down there on the phone to my boyfriend's mum, I had my flasher on and got about two minutes down the path," the victim told the Star.

"I saw someone walking towards me and I didn't think much of it. As I walked past the lad I stopped and started panicking and I turned around and he was stood still.

"He ran towards me, grabbed me and had both his arms around me.

"He started punching me, and he kicked me and dragged me down to the floor.

"I put my phone up and flashed it into his face and he was trying to take my phone.

"I managed to get out of his grip and ran. When I started running, he was following me.

"When I got to the top of the path he wasn't there."

St Helens Star:

Red Rocks

She added: "It was completely out of the blue.

"It was weird, he was completely silent the entire time, it was just horrible, and because of where it was there were no lights.

"There weren't any people around but maybe someone was in the area walking past."

READ > Thief behind bars after being caught breaking into cars again

Jackie Guinness, Detective Inspector for St Helens, said: “This was a very distressing incident for the victim and thankfully she was uninjured when the offender tried to grab the mobile phone.

“We are carrying out a number of CCTV and witness enquiries in the area.

“As Red Rocks is a rural footpath we are keen to hear from residents in the locality who may have captured something suspicious on their doorbell recording or CCTV footage which may be of valuable evidence.”