Detectives hunt four suspects and call for witnesses after 18- and 24-year-old sexually assaulted in city centre within two weeks

Police have increased patrols in Manchester city centre after two young women were raped within 12 days.

A 24-year-old woman was sexually assaulted just before midnight on Sunday in the second attack in two weeks. It came 12 days after an 18-year-old was raped and robbed by a man helped by two women on a secluded pathway in the city centre.

Detectives are not linking the attacks but have increased patrols as they hunt for the four suspects.

DI John Mulvihill of Greater Manchester police’s major incident team said: “I understand that an incident like this will cause concern and I want to assure the community that we have increased patrols in response.

“We are very much in the early stages of our investigation and we are treating this as an isolated incident. We are also working to provide the victim with support from specially trained officers.

“This happened in the city centre, just off a busy road when people would have been around and seen something. I would urge anybody who has information that can help our investigation to contact the police. Everyone has the right to go about their daily lives without being attacked and we will not tolerate this.”

The latest attack happened on a quiet side street near the John Rylands library, off Deansgate, one of the busiest shopping streets in the city. Police said the woman ran off across Deansgate seeking help and was discovered in nearby Bootle Street at about midnight on Sunday.

The teenage victim of last month’s city centre rape was reportedly out with her family when she was attacked on 21 September.

DI Dave Moores said the 18-year-old had been left “extremely traumatised” after she was pinned down and raped by a man who was helped by two women.

She had been wandering alone in Manchester city for about an hour, visiting Burger King on Piccadilly Gardens, before being attacked at 2.50am. She was approached by a man who threw her to the ground with help from a female accomplice while a second woman robbed the teenager.

The police are trawling through hours of CCTV footage in a bid to catch the trio who took part in an attack detectives described as “horrendous”.