Essex Police have put on extra patrols in nearby Witham following two incidents in a short timeframe they believe are linked - one where a girl was sexually assaulted and another where a man exposed himself.

Now police are appealing to those who may have seen the man or passing motorists with dash cam footage to come forward.

It was reported a man approached a girl crossing the bridge over the river on Bramble Road at around 3.30pm yesterday (Monday, 15 February) and sexually assaulted her.

The girl managed to fight the man off and run away.

He was described as being intoxicated, white, in his late 20s to early 30s, around 5ft 6ins tall, chubby and wearing a dark coloured tracksuit and black Nike 720 trainers.

Then, just over an hour later, it was reported a man fitting the same description exposed himself to a girl who was walking along Highfields Road towards the railway station.

Detective Sergeant Jamie Stirland said: "We know these incidents will be concerning but I want to reassure you that incidents like this are rare.

"We have detectives working to identify the man involved and extra patrols taking place in these areas.

"I need anyone who may have seen this man, have CCTV or dash cam footage, or any other information to come forward to us.

"The information you have could be really important to identifying and locating him."

If you have any information please call police on 101 quoting the crime reference number 42/27177/21 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.