Fresh appeal a week after sex attack on girl in Burpham Published duration 23 September 2010

image caption Surrey Police said the man was seen in the area at the time of the attack

Police investigating the serious sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl in Surrey woodland have revisited the scene exactly a week after the attack.

Officers talked to local people and passers-by and handed out leaflets in London Road, Burpham, near Guildford, on Thursday.

Posters including an e-fit image of the suspect have been displayed around the area and in local businesses and shops.

A man in his early 20s who was seen at the time of the attack is being sought.

He was described by police as being white, of slim build and with short scruffy brown hair. He was said to be wearing a brown hooded top, baggy denim jeans and dirty white trainers.

Det Ch Insp Steve Hayes revealed on Thursday that the girl had been wearing headphones at the time of the attack, which happened as she took one of her normal routes home from school.

She was attacked in a small wooded area in Burpham, off London Road near the junction with Abbotswood and Weylea Avenue, at about 1600 BST on 16 September.

She had just turned on to a footpath when she was attacked and forced into woodland and assaulted.

'Sensible precautions'

Det Ch Insp Hayes said officers were following up a number of leads, and had been carrying out house-to-house inquiries and scouring CCTV footage.

"This was a dreadful crime on a young girl and I can't stress enough how determined we are to catch this man," he said.

He added that detectives were advising people in the area to take sensible precautions, and that females in particular should not go out alone.

"If people are using personal music players or mobile phones they need to be vigilant and aware of those people around them, particularly strangers," he said.