A MAN who assaulted a woman sitting in a parked car on Portland had been released from police custody just three hours before the attack, it has emerged, writes Alex Cutler.

Ann-Marie Haime was sitting in the car with a 10-year-old girl outside the Co-op store in Easton Square when a man wearing a surgical mask approached them on Sunday, July 19.

The child ran from the car as the masked man jumped inside, attacking Ann-Marie as he wrestled to get the keys, before pinning her down to stop her getting out as he started the engine.

He fled the scene after her friend ran out of the store and came to her aid.

Members of the public living near to the scene formed search parties in a failed attempt to find the culprit. A police helicopter was also brought in to aid the search, but a man, reported to be the attacker, entered the sea at Church Ope Cove.

The body of the man who entered he sea was discovered 12 days later at Durdle Pier.

Police say they cannot confirm any connection between the assault and the man who entered the sea ahead of an inquest into his death.

It has now been revealed that the attacker, who has not yet been named, was released from police custody at 6pm on Sunday, July 19 - about three hours before the assault and attempted car theft.

A Dorset Police spokeswoman confirmed the man had been arrested “on suspicion of a previous unrelated assault” but was released on conditional bail. The previous alleged assault was reported to police on the morning of Saturday, July 18. It happened in Sturminster Newton and involved another man.

Because the masked attacker had been released from police custody on the day he was last seen, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has been notified.

A Dorset Police spokeswoman said: “Although no specific concerns have been identified, due to the fact there had been prior police contact with the man on the day he was last seen, this matter has now been referred to the IOPC in accordance with the statutory guidance.”

Ms Haime has spoken in detail about her terrifying ordeal, and her struggles to get the image of her attacker out of her mind.

She told the Echo: “Physically and mentally, I’m struggling every day; everywhere I go I see him. I have constant flashbacks, constantly thinking about what would have happened if he had driven off with me.”