Teenage girl raped by cyclist

A 16-year-old girl was been raped by a cyclist as she waited for friends on a canal towpath in the Black Country, say police.

The teenager was approached by a man cycling along the towpath between 1445 and 1530 GMT on Thursday, as she sat on a bench in Hateley Heath, West Bromwich.

She was grabbed, pushed to the ground and sexually assaulted.

After the cyclist rode off, the distraught victim from West Bromwich, raised the alarm.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the incident near Denbigh Crescent.

A West Midlands Police spokesman said: "This was an appalling offence committed against a young girl and we would appeal to the public for help in tracing the offender."

The man was described as black, aged between 30 and 40-years-old, with shoulder-length dreadlocks.