A woman was attacked by a man and knocked unconscious while running in a Victorian state forest in the middle of the afternoon on the weekend.
The 29-year-old woman was running through Lal Lal State Forest, near Ballarat, west of Melbourne, about 4.30pm on Saturday when she was attacked near the Blast Furnace Picnic Area.
She has told police she was approached by a man who hit her in the head with a “handmade weapon”, knocking her unconscious.
She woke to find the man had gone.
After running back to her car, she contacted police and was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening facial injuries.
Her attacker has been described as Caucasian in appearance and as having been wearing black jeans, a cap and no shoes or shirt.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or who has information is urged to contact police.