A 19-year-old woman was sexually assaulted as she made her way home from a party in Brighton during the early hours of Saturday (1 October).
Sussex Police said: “The attack took place in Bear Road, Brighton, at around 5.20am when a man came up behind her on foot and indecently assaulted her by touching.
“The woman managed to repel her assailant who ran off up the road to hide between some parked cars. After losing sight of him and believing him to have gone, the woman continued.
“But she was suddenly accosted again by the same man nudging her arm. She forced him away and he ran off down Bear Road towards the A270 Lewes Road.
“The woman, a student, returned to her flat but only when urged to do so by a friend did she report the matter to police a few days later.
“The suspect is a white man, 5ft 6in to 5ft 8in, in his mid thirties, of medium build and with a round face. He was wearing a grey, plain tracksuit and grey baseball cap.”
Detectives are investigating the assault and appealed for anyone who saw the incident or anything suspicious or who may have been a victim themselves to contact Sussex Police.
They can phone 101, email 101@sussex.pnn.police.uk or call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111, quoting Operation Hudson.