A man is being hunted by police after two women were stalked and grabbed from behind in two frightening attempted rape attacks in Manchester city centre.
Both incidents occurred on Sunday, December 22 after the women were tracked closely by the attacker as they walked to work in the early hours.
The first incident occurred at about 6.23am on Deansgate near to the Hilton Hotel, when a 26-year-old, who was on her mobile phone to her boyfriend, was grabbed from behind and pushed to the floor.
The offender then tried to remove some of her clothing before she managed to fight him off and the police were called about the attempted rape.
Although the victim wasn’t physically injured she was left deeply distraught by her ordeal.
The second incident then occurred a short time later, after a 32-year-old woman was also stalked and attacked from behind on Deansgate.
A passerby heard her screams and saw the offender on top of her before he then ran off in the direction of Castlefields.
Detective Constable Adam Cronshaw said: “Two women were followed and pounced upon by, who we now believe to be the same offender.
“We believe the motive in both incidents was sexual but thankfully neither woman was subjected to a serious sexual assault.”
Police believe that the offender used a vehicle or lives nearby which allowed him to change his clothes.
They have now released CCTV footage of the incident in the hope of tracing down the attacker.
“We are now releasing the moving footage to highlight his deliberate stalking of the women with a view to encouraging anyone with information to come forward,” said Detective Constable Cronshaw.
“We have managed to capture his movements and face from a number of angles so I am also hopeful someone will recognise him from this.
“I would like to appeal to the public to think back to three days before Christmas: were you out on the Saturday night into the Sunday morning, perhaps on a works Christmas party?
“From viewing the footage this suspect appears to be drunk so I would ask people whether they were with him during a party or night out in or close to the city centre.
“Any information will be treated in strict confidence.”
Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
