Police have apologised for describing a man who was performing a sex act in public as having a "small penis".

North Yorkshire Police asked for the public's help on Monday evening to find a naked, overweight suspect following an incident in York.

The original statement, which police say left a number of people upset due to "too much detail", read: " The suspect… has very little chest or pubic hair, no obvious tattoos or scars, and he has what was described as a small penis."

But on Tuesday, the force backtracked into an apology and said: "On the evening of November 19, we posted an appeal on Facebook to help identify a suspect in the York area who performed a sexual act in public.

"The appeal included a description of the naked man, which we accept went into too much detail.

"This has caused upset to a number of people who read the appeal and we unreservedly apologise for any offence caused."

The apology continued: "The appeal was quickly removed and a more appropriately worded version posted on the force website."

The revised appeal removed a description of the man's sexual organs.