A MAN repeatedly tried to touch an 18-year-old girl’s thigh on a bus in Colchester.

Police are searching for the man in connection with the assault, which took place on the number 61 First bus.

The victim, an 18-year-old girl, had boarded the bus in Osborne Street shortly before 6.10pm on Wednesday.

A man then got on the bus at Head Street and sat beside her.

During the next minute, he repeatedly tried to touch her upper leg.

The man only stopped when a member of the public intervened and the bus driver ordered the man off the bus.

Police are appealing for information on the man.

At this stage, the incident is being classified as an assault rather than a sexual assault.

The victim, who the Gazette is not identifying, said: “The whole thing made me feel uncomfortable and I’m still in shock now.

“I knew what was going on but I just didn’t know what to do.

“I didn’t want to give him the pleasure of knowing he was upsetting me.

“That’s until the woman behind me got up and said very loudly to me: ‘You need to move seats. I can see what he is trying to do.’”

The woman then told the bus driver what had happened and the man was told to get off the bus.

The victim, who lives in north Colchester, added: “I’m so grateful to her for doing what she did.

“When he was being told to get off the bus by the driver, he turned to me and said something like: ‘Did I even touch you?’”

The girl, who gets the bus everyday to and from work, has not been on a bus since the incident.

She added: “It has completely put me off. I won’t be getting it again.”

The suspect is described as of mixed race, about 40, between 5ft 10ins and 5ft 11ins and with a medium build.

He was wearing a dark coloured jacket, trousers and sports cap.

He was also carrying a beige rucksack and a crutch.

Police officers would also like to speak to the woman who intervened and anyone else who saw the incident.

Anyone with information should contact PC Peter Mayhew at Colchester police station on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.