MoonWalk women may be able to help identify robbers

POLICE are appealing to thousands of women on a charity walk in a bid to track down two men who seriously assaulted and robbed a female student.

Eloise Roberts, 20, says she thought she was going to be raped as her two attackers dragged her from the pavement and shoved her against a wall.

The nursing student was punched and violently searched by two men who then made off with her purse.

The incident happened just as the Edinburgh MoonWalk in aid of breast cancer started on Saturday night.

Miss Roberts, originally from Leeds, was walking through the city's Meadows area after spending the evening with a friend.

Still visibly shaken almost two days after the assault, she said: "My friend had left me to go home and I was walking along the main road through the Meadows.

"Even though it was 12:30am on Sunday, it was still quite light and was really busy with competitors from the walk.

"When I got to the end of the road I could hear footsteps close behind me and knew something wasn't right.

"The next thing I knew I had been hit from behind and dragged off the pavement. I was terrified - I thought I was going to be raped."

The two thugs told the student to hand over her money and mobile phone.

She continued: "I immediately handed over my purse which had around 10 in it as well as all my credit cards.

"I didn't have my phone on me but when I told them this they didn't believe me and one of them punched me in the face, knocking me back.

"They then both rummaged through my pockets, which only had my keys left in them."

The men ran off towards Tollcross.

The assault happened at the starting point of the charity MoonWalk which saw 10,000 competitors, many of them wearing fancy-dress bras, begin their walk at midnight on Saturday.

Miss Roberts said: "Before I was attacked there were loads of woman on the street who were taking part in the charity walk.

"When the men grabbed me there was no-one around so they must have been following me and waited until it was quiet."

Police have appealed to all walkers in the event, including stars Lorraine Kelly and Michelle McManus.

Both men are described as white, of stocky build, and around 6ft tall. One had blond spiky hair, the other dark chin length hair and are aged between 18 and 20 years old.

The man with the dark hair wore a black T-shirt.