Teenage girl suffers serious sexual assault

Police hunting for group of men following incident in Purley Park on Saturday

A TEENAGE girl was subject to a serious sexual assault after meeting a group of men in a Purley park on Saturday (5) evening.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the incident, which occurred in Purley Park, off Mapledurham Drive, sometime between 10pm and 11.20pm.

The 17-year-old met a small group of men who had travelled to the area in a light coloured five door vehicle, which they parked in Wintringham Way, close to the entrance of the park.

Dc Pam Finch said it was believed that one of the men was known to the victim and had been in contact with her prior to the incident.

Before this group left at about 11pm the young women suffered a serious sexual assault.

“I am keen to speak to anyone who was in the vicinity of the park on Saturday night, who may have seen or heard anything.

“I would also like to speak to anyone who may have seen a car matching this description in the area at the time, and who may have seen where the vehicle went.

“We are carrying out a thorough investigation and I would like to reassure local residents that this sort of incident is very uncommon for this area.”

The local neighbourhood team was made aware of the incident and will be stepping up their patrols of the area over the coming days to offer residents a high visibility presence in the area.

Anyone with information should contact Dc Finch via the 24-hour Thames Valley Police Enquiry Line on 0845 8 505 505, or anonymously on 0800 555 111.