Police hunting a man who attacked a woman in Brighton in the early hours of this morning (Wednesday 22 June) have ruled out a link with a separate incident.
Detectives originally thought that the two incidents may be linked but have now had the opportunity to interview both victims in detail.
In the first incident a 26-year-old Brighton woman was approached by a man who followed her for a short distance along Eastern Road before physically attacking her.
He dragged her into Park Street where he continued his attack and sexually assaulted her.
She was pushed to the ground during the incident which was stopped by a cyclist who was passing by and chased away the attacker.
The attacker fled from Park Street in the direction of Hereford Street on foot.
A CCTV image released by Sussex Police shows a man on the right of the picture who meets the attacker’s description.
He was pictured walking west along St James’s Street at 2.58am.
He is described as white, of stocky build, around 5ft 5in tall, in his twenties to early thirties.
He may be of eastern European origin and is believed to have been wearing a hat which was light or possibly white in colour.
Shortly afterwards another lone woman was in Coombe Road in Brighton when she was followed by a man who began to run at her as she entered Bevendean Road.
She screamed and he backed off.
The man was seen to be standing in Coombe Road before he started following the female.
Detective Inspector John Wallace said: “We did initially believe these two frightening incidents may be linked but after talking to both victims we have ruled out a link.
“Officers from Brighton CID are working to identify who the man may be and extra police patrols will be carried out in these areas at night while we try to establish who the attacker is.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Sussex Police on 0845 6070999 or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
those CCTV are a big joke!!!!