Police appeal after girl, 15, sexually assaulted in Dudley as she walked home from school

The man approached the girl before sexually assaulting her as he ran past her. He then followed her until she was helped away from the man by two women.

The girl has been left shaken by what happened, and police say they are working to support her after her ordeal, which happened at around 3.20pm near the Old Priory Pub.

Officers recovered CCTV and are carrying out other enquiries, but are now asking for the public's help in identifying the suspect. You can watch the footage below.

Det Insp Alison Bridgewater, from our Public Protection Unit, said: "This was an appalling attack on a young girl as she walked through a busy town centre in the middle of the afternoon.

"Thankfully, she's not been physically harmed but we are offering her support as we work hard to identify her attacker.

"The CCTV shows lots of people around, including a number of men in fluorescent jackets. We are trying to identify them, but would urge anyone who recognises themselves in the footage to get in touch so that we can establish if they saw anything.

"Two women comforted the girl after her ordeal, and we're yet to speak to them, so I'd also really like to hear from them."

The suspect was white, skinny, and of medium build. He was around 40 years old, 5ft 10ins tall, with a beard, black tracksuit and gloves, a camouflage backpack, work boots and a hood up.

If you can help, get in touch via Live Chat or 101, quoting 20/152587/24. Alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.