An Ipswich woman has described the shocking moment a cyclist spat through the window of her car in an ‘unprovoked’ attack.

The 30-year-old, who asked to remain anonymous, was driving along Burlington Road at around 1.20pm on April 29 when the attack took place.

She had driven past the cyclist a few moments earlier after dropping her mum, who works for the NHS, off at work and had pulled up to the junction with Portman Road when she heard a spitting sound to her right.

The victim turned to face the attacker, realising he had spat through her car window and onto her neck. The suspect then cycled off quickly towards Civic Drive.

She said: “It was completely unprovoked.

“I was so shocked that I followed him.”

However, she then backed off.

“It was just shock really because it was completely unprovoked and I hadn’t done anything to warrant it at all.”

On arriving home, the victim took a shower and washed the outside and inside of her car with anti-bacterial cleaner but was still concerned about the risk of contamination, especially given the current coronavirus outbreak.

She compared the act as being “like a punch” due to the threat of harm behind it.

“I don’t feel safe sitting in my car now,” she said.

“It feels contaminated.

“Because of what’s happening at the moment no one knows who is infected. I feel that by spitting he kind of knew the sort of impact it would have.

“I just didn’t expect someone to go to that extent, to that extreme and be that vicious and nasty really.

“I just feel really victimised, it was horrible.”

A spokesman from Suffolk police said: “The man is described as white and was wearing a light-coloured jacket, dark trousers, blue Nike-branded trainers, a grey rucksack and white headphones. He was riding a dark-coloured bicycle.

“Anyone with any information about this incident is asked to contact Suffolk police by calling 101 quoting reference number 37/23807/20.”