Leeds city centre sexual assault: First pictures of police cordon following 'very disturbing' bus stop attack
A crime scene is in place in Leeds city centre following a serious sexual assault in the early hours of the morning.
The attack happened between 1.29am and 1.45am when the victim, a woman in her twenties, was walking home after a night out and became aware of a man following her as she walked from Call Lane over Bridge End and down Meadow Lane.
He then approached her at a bus stop next to Asda House on Great Wilson Street and sexually assaulted her. She was able to fend him off and the attacker left the scene.
The bus stop and section of the street remains cordoned off this afternoon while police carried out forensic examinations and searches. A police car remained by the scene while enquiries were ongoing by the District Safeguarding Unit, as shown in the below photograph.
The attacker was described as being of Asian appearance, aged in his thirties, slim build, possibly with long hair, although he was wearing a dark-coloured coat or hoodie with the hood up.
Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector James Entwistle: “This is clearly a very disturbing sexual attack by a stranger on a lone woman walking home from a night out in the city centre and we are carrying out urgent and extensive enquiries to identify the man responsible.
“We are keen to hear from anyone who witnessed any part of the incident or saw the man following the victim at any point along the route she took from Call Lane to Great Wilson Street.
“As part of our enquiries, we are conducting a detailed trawl of surrounding CCTV and would like to hear from anyone who was driving in the area around the time and may have dashcam footage that could assist us.
“We recognise that an incident of this nature will cause understandable concern in the community, particularly at a time of year when people are going out to Christmas parties and other events, and we are liaising closely with our neighbourhood policing colleagues who are increasing their patrols of the area to reassure people.
“The safety of women and girls remains a top priority for the police and our partner agencies, and we will be doing everything we can to bring this investigation to a successful conclusion and to ensure that women and girls are safe and feel safe.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Leeds District Safeguarding Unit via 101 quoting crime reference 13240686440 or online via the LiveChat portal online.