A YORK woman is appealing for help to find the man who smashed up her car in a drunken rage.

Fiona Coleman, 28, of York, said she was terrified that the smartly-dressed man was going to attack her as he repeatedly kicked at her Vauxhall Astra outside the Knavesmire Pub on Wednesday night.

The violent outburst only ended when another man pulled the assailant away and someone else told Miss Coleman to quickly drive away.

She said: "It was absolutely terrifying for me. He was very, very aggressive and really laying into my car.

"But I was frozen, I couldn't move. If I had been thinking, I could have reversed the car, but I was frozen with sheer fright."

Miss Coleman said the attacker was smartly dressed, as though he had been to the races that day, but his face was covered in blood as if he had been in a fight.

He had been wandering in and out of the road, so Miss Coleman beeped her horn as she passed at about 8.45pm. It was then that the attack started. She said: "He caused a major scene, so I'm hoping that someone knows who he is. I'm now left with a £160 bill for the damage. I have to pay excess of £100, so it's probably not worth claiming.

"I'm really angry about it now, but I was terrified at the time and I was in tears as I was driving home."

A York police spokeswoman said it had been a frightening experience for Miss Coleman and urged any witnesses to come forward.

She said: "The man was said to have short, cropped hair, was of stocky build, of medium height and was wearing a suit. He had blood on his face. If anyone saw what happened, or knows who the man is, they should contact us."

Witnesses should contact 01904 631321.

Updated: 11:20 Monday, August 26, 2002