Sex attacker targets dog walkers

Detectives have linked two sex attacks on women who were walking their dogs in Greater Manchester.

Both incidents happened within a few hundred yards of each other in the Bramhall area.

In the first attack a 61-year-old woman was pushed to the ground and sexually assaulted in Dorset Avenue on the morning of 4 June.

On Friday, a 74-year-old was sexually assaulted by a man near Bramhall Park tennis club.

A 22-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault in connection with the first attack, but has now been "completely eliminated as a suspect", police said.

'Appalling attacks'

Det Insp Kevin Dolan, of Greater Manchester Police, said: "We are dealing with two separate attacks, but the circumstances and locations are similar enough to suggest it could be the same person responsible for both.

"Clearly, there is going to be concern from elderly women who use this area to walk their dogs and we fully understand their apprehension.

"We are doing everything we can to find whomever is responsible for these appalling attacks, and officers will be patrolling the area in a bid to reassure people and try and stop whoever is carrying out these heinous crimes."

The description given by the victims for both crimes was very similar, police said.

He was described as being white, in his late teens to mid 20s, about 5ft 7in to 5ft 8in tall, slim, with clammy skin, a pale complexion and clean-shaven. He spoke with a local accent.