Incidents with woman and girl may be linked

At 1am on Sunday, a woman aged 47 was walking past an alleyway leading from Kingsway to Limetree Avenue when she was approached from behind by a man who grabbed her and forced her into the alley.

The man repeatedly told the woman to be quiet, but she escaped after kicking him and ran off.

The suspect is believed to be Eastern European, muscular, about 6ft and was wearing a dark hooded top and a ring on one of his fingers.

In an earlier incident, which happened between 9.35pm and 9.50pm last Wednesday, a 17-year-old girl was walking along Swinefleet Road in the town when she was approached by a man riding a silver woman’s bicycle.

He started to ride alongside her, so the teenage girl asked him what he was doing and he smiled and carried on, riding beside her.

The girl became so concerned she ran to a nearby house to ask for help and called her brother to pick her up.

The man stayed outside the house until the brother arrived and rode off when he went to confront him.

A spokesman for Humberside Police said officers had not ruled out a link between the incidents, and the force has released a closed circuit TV picture of a man they would like to speak to in a white top in a shop, just after 10pm last Wednesday.

The police spokesman added: “We are treating these two incidents seriously and have released images of a man we are keen to speak to as he may be able to help with our inquiries.

“I would ask for anyone who can help identify this man to come forward by contacting either Humberside Police or alternatively call Crimestoppers anonymously.”

Anyone with information about either incident is being urged to call officers at Humberside Police on 0845 6060222, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.