WINCHESTER Police are appealing for witnesses to a disturbing attack on two 11 year-old girls in Alresford on Thursday, June 28.
The girls were indecently assaulted as they made their way home along Jacklyns Lane between 5-30 pm and 6 pm, after running errands at local shops.
The friends were making their way home on micro scooters when they reached a part of the lane where the pavement separates from the road and becomes enclosed by undergrowth and fencing. After one of the girls had fallen behind the other, a man came up behind her and indecently assaulted her.
The girl screamed and ran away in the direction she had just come from. The man then approached the other girl who did not know that her friend had been attacked. He talked to the girl before grabbing her and indecently assaulting her.
She too managed to run away down Jacklyns Lane to her friend's house where parents alerted the police.
Police are appealing to anyone who saw the girls on their scooters as they shopped in Alresford town centre or as they made their way home along Broad Street, into Station Road, then Station Approach before turning into Jacklyns Lane.
The man is described as white, aged between 25 and 35, of slim build with dark, shoulder-length hair which was greasy and brushed back. He was clean-shaven and had an extensively pock-marked face. He was wearing black trousers and a light blue, long-sleeved polo shirt.
DS Adair of Winchester CID said: "This man is quite distinctive and we believe people will remember seeing someone like him hanging around the town centre or the area around Jacklyns Lane. We urge anyone who can help to contact us as soon as possible, anonymously if they wish, on 0845 0454545".
p A 29-year-old local man has been arrested in connection with the offence, but has since been released on police bail.