A TEENAGED paper girl was the victim of an alleged assault during her early morning delivery round in Williton on Wednesday. The 13-year-old, who had been working for local newsagent Hugh Davies for just three weeks, is believed to have been spoken to twice by a man before the incident, which happened near steps between Limpetshell Lane and Townsend at around 7.30pm. Mr Davies, who was delivering papers in a vehicle, saw the youngster around ten minutes earlier. "I'd waved to her and she waved back but as I was driving back up to the village she wasn't where I thought she ought to be," he said. "I drove back and saw her walking up Long Street, still with her bag of papers on her shoulder. "She was pretty distressed and I took her immediately round to the police station. "The response from the officers was magnificent." Mr Davies said the teenager was able to give police a good description of her alleged attacker and police dogs were brought in to scour the area. "This incident has really upset me. I've been in this trade for 50 years and nothing like it has ever happened. "I just had an uneasy feeling and almost sensed something had happened, which is why I doubled back." Mr Davies said the teenager was in an emotional state and extremely shaken by the incident but fortunately suffered no serious injuries. * A man in his early 30s from the West Midlands was due to appear before Taunton magistrates as the Free Press went to print yesterday (Thursday) charged, in relation to the incident, with sexual activity with a child - an offence under recent legislation which attracts a maximum sentence of 14 years.
