Inside the mind of a monster

Detective Inspector Trevor Bowles, head of Rother CID, travelled to Bramshill Police College on Wednesday for an in-depth Cracker-style discussion with a specialist police "profiler."

He is hoping the expert will be able to draw up a psychological profile of the attacker, his thinking and motivation, his likely habits.

"We hope he will be able to give us some direction as to what sort of individual he is so that we can make up a profile of the sort of person who could commit a thing like this."

The man sprang from bushes in un-made Woodsgate Avenue on the evening of Sunday, May 18 and seized an eight year-old girl.

The child had been playing with a friend, who had moved some way off as part of the game.

The attacker grabbed his victim by the throat, made a sexual threat and lifted her off the ground.

Her friend's screams forced the man to drop her and make his escape.

Chief Constable Ken Jones watched as, one week later, nearly 400 motorists were stopped at Woodsgate's Park's junction with London Road in an operation set up by D.I. Bowles to jog the memories of possible witnesses.

D.I. Bowles said this week that a team of detectives, including an officer from the Sussex Police major crime branch, had continued to work on the case, codnamed Operation Redoubt.

The Detective Inspector is devoting almost the whole of his time to the hunt.

The Observer has backed the police campaign by producing special Find This Monster posters detailing the description of the man wanted for what D.I. Bowles describes as a crime that is "about as serious as it gets."

BBC Crimewatch may feature the attempted abduction.

*The wanted man is white and is his forties. He had long, "gingery" hair which was said to be "very curly." He was wearing a blue shirt which was open to reveal a hairy chest. He had dirty hands with well-bitten finger nails. His left eyebrow was pierced and had a ring through it.

Anyone with any information whatever is asked to contact Rother CID at Bexhill police station on 0845 6070999.