Police are hunting a man who indecently assaulted an 11-year-old boy on Hadleigh Downs.

The young boy was playing football near Hadleigh Castle with a friend when the man approached the pair and joined the game.

The man then indecently assaulted one of the boys before running off.

Police said the man, who struck between 10.30am and 11.30am on Sunday, was white, and aged between 40 and 50.

He was thought to be around 5 ft 8 ins tall, of medium build with black hair which was quite long and spiky at the front, and with a full beard.

He was wearing a white t-shirt, grey checked shorts and a white and purple pair of trainers.

Police believe a number of people were on the downs around the time of the attack and may have seen the man.

It is believed he was in the area for quite a while before the attack and any witnesses are urged to come forward.

If you have any information, contact Benfleet police on 01268 756221 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.