THEY were two of the most brutal crimes to hit Blackpool last year.

Who can forget the disturbing image of the swollen face of a 22-year-old woman battered beyond recognition by a brick as she walked home alone along West Park Drive in the early hours of July 26?

Or the bloody head of another lone young woman - this time only 19 - who was beaten with a butcher's steel as she walked on Newton Drive just one month later at 2am on August 22?

So appalling were the two startlingly similar incidents that police reconstructed the West Park Drive attack for BBC TV's Crimewatch in the hope of turning up fresh evidence. In addition more than 80 police officers were assigned to work on the case, forensic tests were carried out on men across the Fylde coast and endless door-to-door enquiries and media information appeals turned up hundreds of leads.

Despite this the attacker, who is believed to be the same person in both cases, remains at large.

Now - as Monday marks the one-year anniversary of the first of these vicious attacks - the detective in charge of the investigation has vowed to continue to hunt for those responsible.

Detective Chief Inspector Cath Thundercloud said: "Both victims have worked extremely hard to rebuild their lives and put these appalling attacks behind them.

"They are now getting on with the rest of their lives but we are in regular contact with both of them to keep them updated with our investigations.

"For the sake of these two young women we are committed to bringing their attackers to justice and will continue to explore every new piece of evidence.

"We would like to appeal to the public to continue to call us with any information. After Crimewatch, we received more than one hundred pieces of information all of which were followed up by detectives.

"We believe someone must know who the offender is and could give us that vital missing piece of the jigsaw. Over the last year this investigation has been a priority for the division and extra patrols have been dedicated to the area in addition to the investigation team carrying out enquiries.

"We are confident that with the public's help we will bring whoever is responsible for these attacks to justice."

Now - in the latest development on the West Park Drive case - investigating officers believe a button found at the scene may have come from the offender's white button-down shirt.

They have now released a picture of it in the hope it may jog witness memories.

DCI Thundercloud, said "It may be that your husband, boyfriend, partner, or male friend came home that night with a button missing from his shirt which would also have been bloodstained and I feel sure someone will remember these two things."

In both cases the offender is described as being white, in his late 20s to early 30s, around 5ft 8inch to 9ins tall, of medium build.

The West Park Drive victim described how her attacker's dark brown hair in a 'curtains' style, with a centre parting swept back at both sides. He wore the white shirt with a pair of darker coloured trousers.