Dog walkers could hold vital clues to a brutal attack on a woman driver by a stranger.

Police are appealing for witnesses after the young Dover woman was stopped as she was driving on Abbey Road in the down at around 4pm last Thursday.

A man flagged down her car on the country road, grabbed her hair and pushed her head into the steering wheel.

She banged her head and lip but didn't need hospital treatment.

Police searched nearby woodland with a police dog and a helicopter helped out, but the man was not traced.

He is described as white, medium-build, with grey hair and a beard. He had glasses and was wearing a dark-coloured jumper.

Detective Sergeant Steve Mart said: “We need to speak to the man to establish what his intention was - perhaps it was a case of mistaken identity?

"We would also like to hear from anyone who may have seen the man - it is an area popular with dog walkers.”

The woman was driving a silver-coloured car towards Dover from the Capel le Ferne direction when the incident happened on a sharp corner, about 500 metres from the Abbey Road and Minnis Lane junction.

Anyone who can help should contact Kent Police on 01303 868278.