evening.

It is the 14th attack on lone women since the end of August -- most of which have been of a sexual nature.

The victim returned to her car after a shopping trip and was grabbed from behind and sexually assaulted.

During the struggle the woman's clothes were ripped and she bumped her forehead.

The terrified woman then locked herself in the car and waited for several hours after the attack -- which was at about 6 p.m. -- before driving to a relative's home.

Crime statistics released last month showed that sex assault and rapes had gone up by 900 percent -- despite a big drop in other categories of crime.

And that figure does not include the seven attacks on women in October and November alone -- four of which are still believed to be unsolved.