A CREDITON woman was the victim of an early-morning assault in which she was hit over the head with a heavy item in an isolated alleyway as she left stables near Queen Elizabeth Drive in the town.

The blow was so hard that the 22-year-old fell to the ground unconscious and came round some 10 minutes later.

She managed to stagger back to the stables where she received help and rang the police.

Detectives are investigating the attack on the woman, who has been named as Olivia Killick, a teaching assistant. She was left badly shaken by the attack during which she suffered bruising to the back of her head.

She said: "I was just leaving the stables when I heard what I thought was one of the girls coming after me.

"Then there was this amazing pain at the back of my head. I was knocked out immediately and fell to the ground and woke up around 10 minutes later.

"I had pain all over my body, in my arms, legs and head. It was terrifying. Since then I haven't been able to go back up to the stables by myself.

"It's very frightening to think why someone would want to knock a woman unconscious like that."

Officers say they do not know what the attacker's motive was but have issued a warning to other women to be careful when walking alone in the area.

Police are appealing for any witnesses to the incident, which happened on Thursday, December 10, between 6.30am and 6.45am.

Contact the police on 08452 777444 and quote crime reference KC/09/938.