Police have launched an appeal for a man they wish to speak to after a series of sexual assaults on London buses.

The man's picture has been released by the force's traffic unit, which is leading enquiries into nine offences between 4 July and 25 September on buses in north and east London.

A number of women have come forward to make the allegations, aged between 23 and 62 years old, with the majority of them in their 20s.

None of the victims received physical injuries as a result of the assaults.

Metropolitan Police says that the incidents occurred on the bus routes 38, 48, 149, 253, 245 and 279 and generally took place in the evening, between 7pm and 11pm.


PC Chris Bowman said: "We clearly need to find whoever is responsible for these assaults, and I would like to thank the women for coming forward to report them.

"Although our public transport system is generally safe, this does not diminish the fact that one such offence is one too many. Under no circumstances will this offending be tolerated and this linked series is being investigated using as many resources as possible.

"It is imperative women in London should be able to board public transport without fear of being targeted.

"Each incident has left the women targeted feeling very upset and shocked, and they are being supported by my team.

"We have carried out extensive enquiries to try and identify this man, and we are now asking the public to contact us if they recognise him.

"Please come forward if you know who he is, whether that means making a report to us directly, or via Crimestoppers anonymously."

Anyone who recognises the man in the images, or has related information to share, is asked to call detectives from the Roads and Transport Policing Command via 101 or tweet @MetCC or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111