THE devastated mother of a young York woman with learning difficulties who was abducted and subjected to a horrifying sexual assault today appealed for help in catching her daughter's attacker.

She said the ordeal her daughter suffered in broad daylight on a busy York street, had put her "back to square one" after she had made good progress with her disability.

"This man must be stopped," she told the Evening Press.

The young woman, who is in her early 20s but has a mental age of about nine, was snatched from Fossway at 12.30pm on Saturday by a man who asked her for directions.

After pulling her into his car, he locked the doors and drove about a mile to Muncastergate, near Heworth Golf Club, where he indecently assaulted her.

She managed to struggle free and make her way home, from where her parents alerted the police.

"I have never seen her so upset - she was sobbing uncontrollably," said the mother.

But the trauma of the ordeal has led the young woman to blank it out of her mind.

"It's a child's way of dealing with it," she said.

"This has been very upsetting for the whole family, and every time I think about it my stomach churns."

The woman said her daughter was now too scared to go out alone and the family would no longer let the young woman out of their sight.

"This has really set her back," she said. "It has really damaged her self confidence just as she was starting to get some confidence at last and get a life of her own. It has put her back to square one."

And the mother made a heartfelt plea for help in the hunt for the man. "If anyone thinks they know this man I would urge them to let the police know - he must be stopped."

The man is described as white, middle-aged, with short brown hair and glasses. He was wearing a blue, red and white checked shirt and driving a dark blue Ford Escort or similar car.

York police can be contacted on 01904 631321.