Woman was knocked out in attack

The 23-year-old was knocked out and doesn’t know the full extent of the assault, said Detective Inspector Julie Mullen.

It happened between 2am and 3am on Monday as the victim was walking along Quarry Street. Police say she was approached by a man who was at the entrance to parkland. Her next recollection is waking up on the ground injured and bruised.

She made her way to a friend’s house nearby where police were called. An ambulance took her to Wishaw General Hospital from where she was released after treatment.

Detective Inspector Mullen said: “At this time the young woman doesn’t know how she came about her injuries — she just remembers being approached by a man and waking up with a head injury and bruised.

“Officers have still to establish what happened to her, but one line of enquiry is that there may have been a sexual motive to the attack. This has still to be confirmed.

“Extensive enquiries are underway to establish the full circumstances of the incident. It is imperative that we speak to anyone who was in the surrounding area in the early hours of Monday morning.

“If you were there, whether you think you saw anything or not, please come forward as something you may not believe to be important could prove vital to our investigation.

“Anyone with information is asked to contact the Public Protection Unit based at Motherwell via 101. Alternatively, you can call CRIMESTOPPERS on 0800 555 111 where details can be given in confidence.”