Police are appealing for witnesses after a 17-year-old student was pushed into a car in daylight, taken to a flat and raped.

The girl was walking along Mare Street in Hackney at approximately 3pm on Wednesday, June 6, when she realised she was being followed by a man in a car.

In an effort to avoid him, she turned into Emma Street and then The Oval, Bethnal Green. However, the man got out of the vehicle, chased the victim and pushed her into his car, before driving her towards a flat in London Fields and raping her.

It was not until after the assault had taken place that the victim managed to escape from the car and run to London Fields police station to report the incident.

Detectives are now looking for a black male, aged between 30 and 40, of a muscular build, with a shaved head, a scar above his right eye and a pierced right ear. The car he drove was a V-reg black VW Golf.

Anyone in the Bethnal Green or Mare Street area who saw anything suspicious should contact the Sapphire team at Shoreditch police station on 020 7275 3491 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 to remain anonymous.