Police are searching for a man in east Manchester after he allegedly attempted to rape a 10-year-old girl.
The suspect approached the girl in the area of Openshaw, in the east of the city, shortly after 2pm on Saturday after she became separated from her friends. Police said he tried to attack her on open land nearby.
The girl, who police described as very brave, managed to escape and stopped a dog walker to ask for help. Police were called and searched the area. The man is described as being of Asian appearance, in his 20s, of slim build and wearing a dark coat.
Greater Manchester police said extra officers would be patrolling the area but that they had not received any similar reports in the vicinity over the weekend.
DCI James Riley, from GMP’s City of Manchester team, said: “What happened to this young girl is understandably very upsetting and specially trained officers will continue to support her in any way they can.
“Parents and neighbours will be concerned and we have stepped up our visible police patrols throughout the coming days and nights. If you do have any worries then please feel free to approach them and they will try to assist.”
He said the force was doing everything in its power to find the man and a dedicated team of detectives was working round the clock.
“So far we have a number of witnesses who are being extremely helpful, while we will also be continuing to knock on doors in the area to see if anyone else saw anything suspicious,” he said.
