A WOMAN was being interviewed by specialist officers today after a man grabbed her in the street, pushed her to the ground and tried to rape her at knifepoint.

A WOMAN was being interviewed by specialist officers today after a man grabbed her in the street, pushed her to the ground and tried to rape her at knifepoint.

The assault occurred as the 47-year-old victim was walking home along St Helen's Street, near to the Water Lily pub, at about 12.45am on Sunday .

She became aware of male voices and laughing behind her and turned around to see three men.

The woman carried on walking and realised the men were walking faster and getting closer to her.

As the woman neared the Samaritans building on the corner of Milner Street, she began to feel threatened by the men and believed they were calling out obscenities at her, she shouted at them to go away and started walking faster into Milner Street.

The woman then heard someone running behind her and fell to the ground.

She knocked her head and, as she attempted to get up, one of the men stood in front of her and pushed her to the floor, cutting her chest with what is believed to have been a knife and attempting to rape her.

The man only stopped when his victim let out a scream.

He walked off towards the other two men and they walked away in the direction of St Helens Street.

The woman sought help from a man and woman who she came across near to Alexandra Park and they called police.

Detective Constable Liz Seager said: “Specialist trained Officers have been working with the victim of this attempted rape to piece together the details from the incident. The victim has been left very shaken by her ordeal and we hope that the witness appeals will bring people forward.”

"The victim has told us that the three men were making a lot of noise whilst they walked along St Helens Street, laughing, joking and jumping in and out of the road. We would like to hear from anyone who either lives nearby or was driving along the road who saw these men.”

All three men are described as of Eastern European appearance.

One of the men is described as 5ft 4in to 5ft 6in, 25-35 and of stocky build.

His hair was dark and slicked back and he wore light coloured trousers with a dark top and denim style jacket. The other men were taller, also 25-35 and wore dark clothing.

Anyone with information about the incident should call Dc Liz Seager at Ipswich CID on 01473 613500 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.