Police are appealing for information after a young girl was approached by a man in a secluded alleyway.

The 12-year-old girl was walking home from school at around 3.45pm on Wednesday (July 1) along Ewell Road towards the Northey roundabout, in Ewell. She turned down the alleyway and a man approached her from behind.

The man placed his hands on the girl’s shoulders which startled her and caused her to scream. The man then turned and jogged away back towards the roundabout.

The man is described as white, 30 to 40 years old and of a short, skinny build. He was predominantly bald with slight grey stubble on the top of his head and was wearing a grey t-shirt and pale blue jeans.

A number of police resources were sent to the scene including officers from Surrey Police’s response team, a dog unit and the police helicopter.

Detectives in east Surrey are now appealing for witnesses.

Investigating officer DC Trudie Harrison of Epsom CID said:” The young girl was not hurt in any way but this must have been a frightening experience for her. We are treating this incident very seriously and I am appealing to anyone who was in the area yesterday afternoon and believes they may have witnessed the incident or seen a man matching the suspect’s description to please come forward.

“I would like to reassure the community that incidents of this nature are extremely rare in east Surrey but we need to establish who this man is and what his motive was and we are doing all we can to find this man.”

If you know someone who matches the suspect’s description or if you were in the area at the time and think you may have witnessed the incident, please contact Epsom CID on 0845 125 2222 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.