Boy, 10, assaulted in park

Police are hunting a sex attacker who indecently assaulted a 10-year-old boy in a Merseyside park.

The boy was playing with two friends in Stadt Moers Park, Whiston, on Sunday when he was approached by the man.

He asked him to go to the shop and fetch him a soft drink and, when he returned, led him to some nearby bushes where he assaulted him.

The assault took place between 1430 GMT and 1500 GMT, but police said the boy was not able to tell his parents what had happened until 2100 GMT on Monday.

The boy was interviewed over a video link by specially-trained police officers to gather more details of the assault.

I can assure parents that we are doing all we can Detective Inspector George Davies, Merseyside Police

High-visibility patrols have been put in place in the area around the park and detectives have asked parents to make sure they know where their children are at all times.

The attacker is described as being about 5ft tall, aged in his 30s, balding with a ring of brown hair around his head and he has brown eyes.

He wore a navy blue tracksuit bottoms, a green shirt with short sleeves with coloured stripes across them, a navy fleece and white Reebok trainers.

Detective Inspector George Davies, of Merseyside Police, said: "I can assure parents that we are doing all we can, using our full police resources, to find and arrest the man who is responsible for this serious assault.

"The young boy who has been assaulted is very upset by the incident and it's vital that anyone who has any information about the identity of the man responsible gets in touch with us."