West Midlands Police are appealing for information after a 15 year old girl was sexually assaulted on Tower Street in Dudley on Tuesday as she walked home from school.

The man approached the girl before sexually assaulting her as he ran past her. He then followed her until she was helped away from the man by two women.

The girl has been left shaken by what happened, and police are working to support her after her ordeal, which happened at around 3.20pm near the Old Priory Pub.

Officers have recovered CCTV and are carrying out other enquiries, and are now asking for the public's help. Det Insp Alison Bridgewater, from the Public Protection Unit, said:

"This was an appalling attack on a young girl as she walked through a busy town centre in the middle of the afternoon.

"Thankfully, she's not been physically harmed but we are offering her support as we work hard to identify her attacker.

"The CCTV shows lots of people around, including a number of men in fluorescent jackets. We are trying to identify them, but would urge anyone who recognises themselves in the footage to get in touch so that we can establish if they saw anything.

"Two women comforted the girl after her ordeal, and we're yet to speak to them, so I'd also really like to hear from them."

The suspect was white, skinny, and of medium build. He was around 40 years old, 5ft 10ins tall, with a beard, black tracksuit and gloves, a camouflage backpack, work boots and a hood up.

Anyone with information can get in touch via Live Chat or 101, quoting 20/152587/24. Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.