A man who attempted to sexually assault a woman in a tunnel is being hunted by Surrey Police.

The woman in her 20s was walking through the tunnel on the footpath between Kingston Road and Meadow Walk at 4.30pm on Wednesday (May 24) when a man attempted to sexually assault her.

The man was loitering around the tunnel, which goes underneath the train line, when the woman and her dog walked through.

As she was walking through she was grabbed by the man but her dog managed to scare him off and the victim was able to escape.

Surrey Police are appealing for witnesses for anyone who was near the area or has any information that could help identify the man.

The alleged attempted assaulter has been described as a 5' 9" white man with tanned skin in his late 20s to early 30s.

He has a stocky build with muscular arms, dark brown hair with short sides and slightly longer on top, and was wearing a plain black T-shirt and pale blue denim shorts with dark sunglasses on his head with grey plimsoll-style shoes.

Detective Inspector Jackie Elkins, of Epsom and Ewell Safer Neighbourhood Team, said: “I would like to reassure the public that we are treating this isolated incident extremely seriously.

“We need the public’s help to identify the man who has been described to us. Similarly, if you were in the vicinity of the area, on the footpath near the Hogsmill River, at around 4.30pm yesterday and saw anything suspicious, then please get in contact.

“This was a frightening incident that has left the victim feeling extremely shaken. We working alongside the victim to support her and have extra officers around the area conducting patrols."

Anyone with information are urged to call Surrey Police on 101 quoting reference 45170054313 or use the online reporting system https://report.police.uk/.”

Alternatively the independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111.