Police seek witness who came to aid of girl who had been 'sexually assaulted' in Cottingham

Police are appealing to find a witness who came to the aid of two girls, one of whom had been sexually assaulted, in an East Yorkshire village.

The girl and her friend were walking along Park Lane in Cottingham when the incident happened at around 9.30pm on Saturday 22 April. The suspect then fled the scene.

An 18-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of sexual assault. He has since been released on conditional bail while investigations continue.

Police want to track down a witness who is believed to have confronted the girl's attacker. He is described as being 5ft 7in tall and is thought to be in his late-20s to early-30s and had a brown coloured beard. He was wearing dark blue trousers, a black coat with blue patterns and a brown beanie hat whilst carrying a black backpack.

Detective Sergeant Tracy St Paul from the Force’s Criminal Investigation Department said: “I want to offer my assurance that whilst incidents of this nature remain incredibly rare in our area, we hope news of this arrest will assure the community that we are treating it as a priority.

“The girl has understandably been left shaken because of the incident and she is currently being supported by specialist trained officers.

“We are currently exploring all lines of enquiry available to establish the full circumstances and officers will be carrying out enquiries in the local area. If you see one of our officers and have any concerns, I encourage you to speak to them.”

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know.