A police investigation is underway after a 30-year-old woman was sexually assaulted on the 6.30pm Newcastle to Edinburgh Waverley service operated by Virgin East Coast on Thursday 19 April.

The woman was unable to find a seat on the train and stood next to a group of men who she had been chatting to at Newcastle station before boarding. During the journey one of the men sexually assaulted her.

In response the woman slapped him and the man retaliated by punching her on the jaw.

A British Transport Police spokesman said: “Detectives are keen to speak with anyone who was on board this train and may have seen what happened.

“Any piece of information, no matter how small, could prove vital to the investigation.”

Anyone with information should contact BTP on 0800 40 50 40.

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John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.