Hunt for Christchurch sex attacker

Police are today continuing the hunt for a man after a sexually motivated attack on a woman in central Christchurch early Saturday morning was foiled by passerby.

Detective Sergeant Leairne Dow said the man pushed the woman into a reserve area on Stanmore Road as she walked home around 2am.

She fell backwards and was struggling beneath her attacker when a group of men came to her rescue, shouting at the attacker, and scaring him off.

They waited with the woman until friends took her home.

The attacker was described as European, aged 40 to 45 and stocky with a pot belly. He had short dark hair and was wearing a black knee-length jacket and blue jeans.

Ms Dow said police were hoping the woman's rescuers would contact police to help identify the man.

- NZPA