A MASKED man hit a woman with a metre-long wooden stick and then ran off with her briefcase last night.

The man who was wearing a burgundy balaclava or beanie hat pulled over his face approached the woman aged in her 40s in Hillcrest Caravan Park on Porton Road, Amesbury, at around 11pm.

The man swung the stick at the woman, hitting her shoulder with it before grabbing her briefcase and running towards the roundabout at Butterfield Down Estate.

The man is described as white, approximately 5 ft 10 inches tall and of average build. He was wearing a dark coloured bomber jacket, with dark gloves and dark trousers.

Detective Sergeant Jim Stannard said: “Although the incident lasted a matter of seconds, we believe this man may have been in the area for up to 40 minutes prior to the incident taking place.

“Understandably, it was frightening for the victim – she did not know the man, but fortunately, she was not injured.

“I need to hear from anyone who was in the area between 10pm on Thursday, March 23 and 12.10am on March 24 – did you notice anybody loitering in the area? Did anything appear suspicious to you within the area?

“I am also keen to hear from anyone who saw a white transit van with sign writing on the side in the area around that time.

“I’d like to reassure the local community that we take reports of this nature very seriously and a detailed investigation is being carried out to identify the offender.

“If you have information, please call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”