A knife-wielding robber struck a woman in the face and rooted through her handbag - sparking a police call for information.

The force today (November 11) appealed for witnesses after the attack in Piccotts End Lane, near Hemel Hempstead, at 2.30pm on October 18.

The suspect is said to have brandished the knife and threatened the victim, who is in her 30s, before taking items out of her handbag. He also struck her in the face which bruised her cheek.

He has been described as of slim build, around 5ft 6ins tall with untidy, short brown hair, wearing a grey tracksuit and a dark coloured cap with graffiti-style lettering on it.

PC Sarah Scanlon, from the Dacorum Local Crime Unit, said: “Our enquiries are continuing, and I am urging anyone with information to contact police.

“I appreciate the nature of this incident is concerning, and we are doing all we can to establish the full circumstances and to find whoever is responsible.”

Information can be emailed to sarah.scanlon@herts.police.uk or submitted via non-emergency number 101, quoting 41/87478/24.

Machete robbery

It comes after police last week released a suspect description after a man was robbed by someone armed with a machete in Hemel Hempstead.

The victim, a man in his 30s, was walking towards Livingstone Walk from Henry Wells Square when he was approached by the suspect at 8.45pm on Saturday, October 26.

Police said the male suspect, who was riding a mountain bike, then brandished “a bladed weapon” and demanded the man hand over his property. Cash and cigarettes were taken before the suspect rode off.

Investigator Deborah Newsham said: “The suspect was described as a white man, approximately 5ft 9ins tall and aged in his early 20s,” she added. “He was wearing a grey hooded jacket with the hood up and dark jogging bottoms, and may have been wearing white trainers.”

The machete robbery is not believed to be linked to the Piccotts End Lane attack.