DETECTIVES are hunting three thugs who indecently assaulted a woman after holding a knife at her throat.

The 31-year-old woman has told police she was dragged from the pavement to a dimly-lit Farnworth pub car park where she was attacked.

One thug threatened to kill her if she screamed.

Detectives are trying to track down a woman passer-by who helped the woman after the incident and used a nearby phone box to raise the alarm. The woman, who has not been named, was today receiving counselling.

The woman has told police she was attacked at the rear of the Flying Shuttle pub in Anchor Lane, Farnworth, at 7pm on Sunday.

Police have released descriptions of the three men involved.

One is 5ft 8ins tall with a fat face in his early 30s, clean shaven wearing a stud earring in one ear and a hooked earring in the other. He was wearing a dark coloured baseball cap with "No Fear" emblazoned on the front. A second man is possible Asian, early 20s wearing a black bomber jacket over a top which had a hood. He was also wearing a baseball cap. A third man is also in his early 20s, and was wearing a denim jacket, a baseball cap. He had a pony tail.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.