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Schoolgirl beats up attacker after he grabs her in a park

A would-be attacker who grabbed a 14-year-old girl was left battered and bruised after it turned out his attempted victim was a martial artist.

The schoolgirl was walking home alone through Tilgate Park in Crawley when a man in his thirties grabbed her arms from behind, police said.

Despite being more than 20 years younger than him, the teenager, who has studied martial arts for several years, then managed to break free from his hold and proceeded to punch and kick the attacker.

The attempted attack was in Tilgate Park on Saturday morning. Credit: Google Street View

Sussex Police arrested a man shortly after the attempted attack on Saturday morning and are appealing for any witnesses to come forward.

He is described as being thin and around 5ft 7ins tall.

Although we have made an arrest, we need to speak to anyone who was in Tilgate Park on Saturday morning and saw what happened. We need to find people who may have seen a man acting suspiciously in or around the park on Saturday or on other occasions.

– Detective Inspector Andy Bennett, Sussex Police