A MAN tried to rape a woman just yards from her doorstep after following her home from a job interview.

The 24-year-old was sexually assaulted and had her clothes torn off in the stairwell of her residential block, but the attacker fled after a neighbour heard her screams and dialled 999.

And despite the terrified victim telling the emergency switchboard she could actually see the pervert lurking near her home several minutes afterwards, police took 36 hours to arrive.

Officers later said they were dealing with a “serious incident” at the time but, as a result of the delay, they missed a chance to arrest the man and he remains at large.

The neighbour said: “An hour after the first call I called 999 again because no police had arrived.

“I told the operator somebody had been attacked and I could see who attacked her. I was irate nobody had come, It was very frustrating.

“The operator promised somebody would come but I got a call from a police officer at Walthamstow police station apologising that nobody had responded.

“He said police had been dealing with a serious incident and could not spare any additional resources. He said there were several unanswered calls and apologised.”

The woman was returning from a job interview at 3pm last Wednesday when she spotted a man following her after she got off a train at Wood Street station.

She became scared when he too turned into a narrow street which leads towards the Stocksfield Estate so she broke into a run, but the pervert gave chase, grabbed her and pushed her against a wall.

He then laughed and said: “You can't run away now. I’ve got you,” before sexually assaulting her.

The woman, who was so distressed by the attack she was too afraid to leave her home for three days, said: “I just thank God my neighbour was there because it could have been a lot worse. I want to alert other women that this guy is out there."

“I can’t remeber what was going through my mind. I was so scared.

“I’m also really angry that it took the police so long to respond and they did not interview me until 11pm the next day.

“My husband and my neighbour called them but they didn’t seem to want to take it seriously.”

A police spokeswoman said: "We recognise that our response on this occasion fell short and have already apologised to those concerned.

"The call came at a time when the borough was extremely busy and we were unable to provide a unit to immediately assist the victim.

"However, the victim, who was not physically injured during the assault, was called by a supervisor, apologies were made to her, and the situation explained.

"As part of the Policing Pledge, we promise to meet victims at a time of their convenience. The victim asked us to meet her at 8pm the following day and officers attended the victim's home at the arranged time to report the incident.

"Due to the nature of the assault, after initial details were provided, the victim has been referred to specialist police officers in the Sapphire unit to pursue the offender.The Sapphire team are trained to help and support victims of sexual crimes.

"We take all reports of sexual crimes seriously and we aim to provide an appropriate response to reports of crimes of this nature."

The attacker is described as an Asian man, aged between 20 and 25, wearing a shiny black jacket, blue jeans and dark trainers.

l Anyone with information should call 8345 3276 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.