Girl, 17, raped in Bradford park

The teenager was walking through Bowling Park around 1.30pm yesterday (Thursday) when she was approached by a man who dragged her to a wooded area and subjected her to a serious sexual assault.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark McManus, from West Yorkshire Police’s Homicide and Major Enquiry Team (HMET), said: “We believe the suspect has followed the victim across the park from the tennis courts, past the monument onto the football fields before approaching her and taking her to a wooded area near Parkside Road where the attack took place.

“There will have been a number of people in and around the park at this time and I am appealing to anyone who may have seen anything suspicious to come forward. It is possible someone may have witnessed what they believe to be a couple arguing and thought nothing of it, or the suspect in the park area prior to the attack. They could be vital witnesses to the investigation and we would ask them to come forward.

“After the attack, the suspect is believed to have turned left out of the wooded area and headed towards Parkside Road, but it is unclear, the direction he travelled after that.

“We also believe a group of young males were near the cemetery end of Burras Road around the time of the incident and would ask them to come forward as they may hold vital information as witnesses.

“Enquiries are at an early stage and specially trained officers are continuing to support the victim at this time. Patrols by neighbourhood officers have been increased in the area to provide community reassurance.”

The suspect is described as an Asian male, aged 20-25 years old, between 5ft 5 and 5ft 7, of athletic build, wearing light coloured jogging-style bottoms and a bright coloured hooded top.

Anyone who was in the park between 1pm and 2pm yesterday and who has any information is asked to contact HMET via: 101 and quoting crime reference number: 13150180322.