POLICE today warned women not to walk alone in an area of York after a serious sex attack on a teenage girl.

They are now investigating possible links between THREE attacks on teenage girls in the area.

In the latest incident, the 17-year-old victim was saved by a passing couple who went to her aid.

She was attacked at about 1am today on a footpath leading from Rawcliffe Lake to Greystoke Road, in Rawcliffe.

Officers are warning women not to walk around the lake on their own until the man has been caught.

Sergeant Dave Kirby, from Clifton police station, said the girl was taking a shortcut home after leaving her boyfriend's house.

She became aware of someone walking behind her and as she turned to go up the path he pushed her to the ground and indecently assaulted her.

He ran off in the direction of Beaverdyke when a passing couple out walking their dog heard her screams and went to help her.

Sgt Kirby said the couple tried to reassure the girl before taking her home, where her mother rang the police.

He said: "This is a serious indecent assault, and if the couple had not come along it could have been much more serious.

"This area is pitch black at night and we ask that women do not walk around this area alone until we have caught the offender."

The girl was said to be very "shaken" by the attack.

The man is described as white, and aged between 20 and 30. He was wearing dark trousers and a white hooded top. He had the hood up and the strings drawn so it was tight around his head.

Anyone who saw a man fitting the description is asked to contact police on 01904 631321.

A 15-year-old suffered a similar attack near Rawcliffe Lake in February, by a man fitting the same description.

And police are not ruling out links with a similar attack on a 15-year-old which took place last Friday night on a path between Kingsway School and The Clifton pub.

But officers are not yet linking it to another sex attack in South Bank last month, when a woman was attacked on a footpath in the early hours as she walked home from a nightclub.

Updated: 13:05 Saturday, June 30, 2001