Police appeal after woman assaulted and robbed in Kirkcaldy

The incident happened at around 6.40pm in Wemyssfield as the woman headed in the direction of Kirkcaldy bus station.

Officers investigating the attack have confirmed that the woman was carrying her handbag and a supermarket shopping bag when an unknown male approached her opposite Kitty’s nightclub as she walked past the town square.

The attacker attempted to pull the handbag from her and then punched her in the face resulting in the woman falling to the ground. The suspect ran off with both the handbag and shopping bag along Hunter Street heading towards Kirk Wynd before being lost from view.

The victim of the attack sustained minor injuries and was badly shaken.

The suspect is described as white, in his early 20s, between 5ft 2ins tall and 5ft 4ins, and has a slim build. At the time of the attack he was wearing a dark hooded top that had a vertical zip on the left breast, dark jeans and white trainers.

Detective Constable Ryan Balsillie of Kirkcaldy CID said he was appealing for the local community to help identify this person responsible for what he called a “callous attack on a defenceless woman.”

“Thankfully the woman was not seriously injured but was badly shaken,” said DC Balsillie.

“Our enquires have established that the male responsible has run into the Kirk Wynd graveyard but we do not know where he went after that point.

“We know that the town centre was still relatively busy at that time of early evening and would appeal for anyone who was walking in the area or in a vehicle, including local taxi drivers, who may have seen a male matching that description before or afterwards to contact the police.

“The individual may have been acting suspiciously or in a nervous manner and we would urge anyone who saw such a person to contact the police as soon as possible.

“I would like to reassure the community that we are doing everything we can to identify who is responsible and have officers dedicated to this investigation who are reviewing CCTV footage.”

Those with information are asked to contact police on 101 or the charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.