A WOMAN who was punched in the face by a female dog walker has spoken of the harrowing incident, which she said had made her wary of strangers.

The mature student, who did not want to be named, was attacked near Broken Scar, on the western edge of Darlington, after asking the dog walker to put her animals on a lead.

The incident happened at about 12.15pm on Saturday.

The victim said: “After this, I would not approach any strangers. I can see it can lead to trouble, you can find yourself being hit.

“I think she will be laughing at me now.

“I can’t afford to be seen with a face like this. Especially as a woman, they think your boyfriend has hit you.”

The woman said she remained shocked about the incident.

She added: “I’m not the kind of person who punches, but when she did it, she showed she has punched before.”

The attacker is described as white, female, 40 to 45, about 5ft 5in, with a broad build, who looked overweight.

She had wavy, dark red, dyed hair, longer than shoulder length and tied back, with strands falling down the right side of her face.

Her face was round and she was not wearing glasses or make-up.

She was wearing a lilac or light blue waterproof, short coat and had two dog leads around her neck – one blue and frayed, and the other red, both with silver chains attached.

The dogs were described as a black and white lurcher and a sandy-coloured retriever or Labrador.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Darlington police on 0345-60-60- 365.