Police are investigating the stabbing of a 15-year-old cyclist on Saturday night by a person in a passing car, in the fourth attack of its kind in Noord-Holland, the Noordhollands Dagblad reports.

The incident took place in the early evening as the girl was cycling on the Heerenweg in Barsingerhorn, about 15 kilometres south of Den Helder. The driver of a small car coming from the opposite direction stabbed the girl in the arm with a sharp object, causing her to fall.

She was able to cycle home and alert the police, but the car could not be traced.

Several similar incidents took place in the province in November. In Egmond aan den Hoef an 18-year-old girl out on a run was cut with a sharp object by the driver of a car and in nearby Castricum an 18-year-old girl who was cycling was stabbed in the chest.

A 52-year-old woman runner later received a cut to her arm on the same road. None of the women were seriously hurt.

Police are investigating if the incidents are related and are looking for witnesses.