Girl, 15, raped as she walked to school

Officers have been carrying out enquiries in the local community since Monday 14 November, when officers received calls that a 15-year-old girl had been attacked in a wooded area off Rother View Road.

An unknown man is alleged to have raped the girl as she was walking to school, before fleeing the scene.

The suspect is described as being white with a slight tan, around 40-years-old, with spikey blonde hair and a clean shaven face.

He is believed to be between 5ft 7ins and 5ft 9ins tall and was wearing black jogging bottoms, a grey hooded jumper and black canvas lace-up shoes with a white sole.

Detective Inspector John Fitzgibbons, who is leading the investigation, said: “Officers have been carrying out extensive enquiries since this incident was reported to us on Monday morning and we are absolutely determined to identify the suspect responsible.

“The victim, a teenage girl, and her family have understandably been left very distressed by this incident and are receiving support from specially trained officers.

“I’d urge everyone living locally, or those who bring their children to school in this area, to cast their minds back to Monday morning – did you see a man matching the description given by the victim? Did you see anything untoward or suspicious, someone who was perhaps out of place?

“We have dedicated officers carrying out a range of enquiries to try and identify the person responsible for this awful incident, and I want to take this opportunity to thank the local community who are being incredibly helpful and supportive.

“Information has already been coming in from the public, for which we are grateful, but I’d repeat our desire to learn about anything that may have seemed unusual about Monday morning – particularly if you walk through, or close by, the wooded area where the attack took place.”

DI Fitzgibbons continued: “Additional police patrols are taking place and officers are providing visible reassurance to the community, who I completely appreciate will be feeling shocked and unnerved by this incident.

“I want to reassure you that we are doing all we can to identify this individual and will continue to explore every avenue to resolve this matter as quickly as possible.”

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 or email [email protected] quoting incident number 216 of November 14, 2016.