A woman was assaulted and robbed near Kirkcaldy bus station last night.
The victim, in her 50s, sustained minor injuries and was badly shaken in the attack as she walked in Wemyssfield at around 6.40pm.
Police are hunting for a man who grabbed her handbag and punched her in the face, knocking her to the ground.
The culprit, who approached from behind opposite Kitty’s nightclub, ran off with the woman’s handbag and shopping bag along Hunter Street.
Local police are following various lines of inquiry and have appealed for help from the public, including taxi drivers who may have seen the attacker.
Detective Constable Ryan Balsillie, of Kirkcaldy CID, described the crime as a callous attack on a defenceless woman and said: “Thankfully the woman was not seriously injured but was badly shaken.
“Our inquiries have established that the male responsible has run into the Kirk Wynd graveyard but we do not know where he went after that point.
“We know that the town centre was still relatively busy at that time of early evening and would appeal for anyone who was walking in the area or in a vehicle, including local taxi drivers, who may have seen a male matching the description before or afterwards to contact the police.
“The individual may have been acting suspiciously or in a nervous manner and we would urge anyone who saw such a person to contact the police as soon as possible.”
The man is described as white, in his early 20s, slim, 5ft 2in to 5ft 4in tall, and was wearing a dark hooded top with a vertical zip on the left breast, dark jeans and white trainers.