Essex Police have warned residents to exercise caution when visiting a nature reserve and the surrounding area close to the Maldon district boundary.

The warning comes after a man exposed himself to two teenage girls in Whetmead Nature Reserve in Blackwater Lane, Witham, in the latest of a series of similar incidents in the area which police are now linking.

The incident in the park, which is just over two miles away from Wickham Bishops, happened at about 5.15pm on Monday (22 March).

The victims in the latest incident were sitting on a bench at the top of a hill when they noticed a man had repeatedly walked back and forth in front of them and up and down the hill beside them.

The man then waited until other people in the park had left the area and then exposed himself to the pair.

The victims ran from the area and, as they did so, the man hid from them in a bush.

He is described as white, about 5ft 10ins tall, with fluffy dark brown hair in a 'curtains'-type style.

He was wearing a black t-shirt with no visible logos and blue skinny jeans.

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Police are now appealing for information from anyone who was in the area at the time who may have seen a man matching the description.

Detectives believe there were a number of dog walkers in the area immediately before the incident took place.

DS Mick Carrington of Braintree CID said: "We of course understand these incidents will be concerning for our community and we are treating them very seriously.

"We have high visibility patrols taking place in the area, but we would urge members of the public to vigilant and we would ask parents not to allow their children to go to the area alone."

Two of the incidents police are linking took place on Wednesday, 10 March and Friday, 12 March.

At about 4pm on 10 March, three girls reported walking in a green area just off Laurence Avenue between Maldon Road and Pattison Close when a man exposed himself.

The man in that incident is described as white, slim, approximately 20-years-old with medium-length dark brown hair and wearing a blue jacket, grey trousers, and brown shoes.

Two days later, a woman in her thirties was walking her dog in the Maldon Road area at around 10am when she reported a man exposing himself.

Anyone with information which they believe will help our investigation should call us on 101 quoting crime reference number 42/44328/21 or cite incident 1046 of 22 March.