Police have explained why they waited a month to tell the public about a sex attack in Deal.

The force was lambasted for not warning women to be vigilant after the alleged incident in Blenheim Road on Sunday, February 1, at 7.20pm.

They have since confirmed the reason was a delay in interviewing the alleged victim.

The Mercury received an appeal for witnesses on Monday, which we published on our website, Kentonline.co.uk/Deal

At first we thought police had made a mistake with the date of the attack, but a press spokeswoman confirmed it was a month-old incident.

When we asked why they had not told the public before, we were told: “Officers go to the press as a last resort.”

Editor Graham Smith wrote and complained that we should have been told straight away so we could warn women to be careful – but still we were not told their reasons.

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In the meantime, Lib Dem Parliamentary hopeful Sarah Smith accused the force of “letting women down,” and called for the Chief Constable to explain the operational reasons for keeping women in the dark.

She said: “Appealing to the public for information a month after a sex attack on a woman in Deal is not good enough.”

The victim is said to have been walking along Blenheim Road about 7.20pm when she became aware of a man walking on the other side of the road towards the town centre.

When she crossed the road she was grabbed by the throat from behind and assaulted.

She ran to report the attack to neighbours.

Investigating officer PC Jennifer Hewitt said: “I commend the victim for reporting what must have been a terrifying attack.”

The Mercury’s online appeal was the week’s most read story and got more than 14,000 views in two days, highlighting the importance of press appeals to help find criminals.

Sometimes police do release appeals about street attacks the same day or a couple of days afterwards.

A Kent Police press spokeswoman said: "The crime remains under investigation and we are continuing to appeal for anyone with any knowledge of this incident to come forward.

"In this instance PCSO’s conducted house to house enquiries very shortly after the incident was reported to us. Though this is not a media appeal, it is an appeal for information in which potential useful information was gathered and the local community was alerted to the incident.

"In addition to this CCTV enquires and forensic investigations were taken forward by the officer in charge of the case.

"It is rare that a delay in appealing for information occurs, however in this instance the reason behind it was valid.

"It is also not always appropriate, particularly when dealing with sexual offences to discuss the rationale for this with the press."