Knifeman 'could kill next time'

One victim likened her attacker to a CD-fit compiled after another attack

A knifeman who has carried out a spate of attacks on women could kill next time, police in Sussex have warned.

Seven women have been attacked in separate incidents in Hastings and St Leonards in the past two months with five suffering injuries.

Police said the man seemed to have no motive other than sheer violence, with no attempts at robbery or a sex attack.

In the most recent attack a 57-year-old woman suffered a punctured lung when she was stabbed in Hastings on 1 March.

'Growing in ferocity'

Police, who have named the series of assaults Operation Single, think the attacker is his in late teens or early 20s and said the man's method of attack was similar in each incident.

In each case a lone female victim, usually in her teens, has been unaware of the presence of the attacker until hearing footsteps behind her.

The string of attacks 11 January, Laton Road, 23-year-old hit on head 11 January, The Woodlands, 16-year-old punched 19 January, Braybrooke Road, 14-year-old stabbed 21 January, Clinton Crescent, 19-year-old punched 23 January, White Rock, 16-year-old punched 17 February, Little Ridge Avenue, 18-year-old stabbed 1 March, Lower Park Road, 57-year-old stabbed

The attacker has quickly punched or stabbed his victim before running off.

At a press conference on Thursday, Detective Inspector Tim Nunn, of Sussex Police, appealed for anyone who had information about the attacks to come forward urgently.

He said: "I am very concerned about the nature of the way these attacks appear to be escalating.

"We are talking about someone who may, or not, have offended in the past, but the indications are that the attacks are growing in ferocity.

"The most recent attack could have had a very different outcome."

Mental health

"I do not want to raise the fear of crime in Hastings but we have a responsibility to bring to the attention of ladies in the town that we have concern about this individual."

Det Insp Nunn said the teenage girl punched in the fifth of the attacks had been taken to Hastings Police Station, where on the wall she saw a CD-fit picture compiled after the third attack.

He said the girl told officers the man in the picture bore an 80 to 85% likeness to her attacker.

Det Insp Nunn said he was sure somebody in the Hastings area would know who had been behind the crimes because of changes in their behaviour over the time of the attacks.

He said: "Potentially there are parents out there who might be concerned for him or doctors he might have been to see who might have concerns about his mental health."