Man bailed in serial rapist investigation

A man arrested by detectives in England investigating a string of sex attacks has been bailed, police said tonight.

The man, in his 20s, was arrested last night and was being held at a central London police station.

Scotland Yard said the man had been bailed to return on January 3 pending further inquiries.

Four women, all in their early 20s and visitors to the capital, were assaulted after becoming separated from friends in London’s West End. In the latest assault, a woman was raped on Thursday.

The three previous attacks, which stretch back to October, have seen two women raped and another subjected to an attempted rape.

All the women were taken to the St James’s Park area, close to Buckingham Palace, and attacked after a man asked them whether they were lost.

Officers issued CCTV images of a man they wish to question in connection with the attacks.

He is described as having a dark-skinned appearance, is around 6ft to 6ft 2in in height, in his late 20s and has short dark hair.

Detective Chief Inspector Tony Nash, overseeing the probe, appealed for women out in the Piccadilly and West End area of London over the festive period to be “extra vigilant”.

“Where possible we ask that they stay with groups of friends, and do not go off with or travel alone with, men they have only just met,” he said.

“We also ask that they be aware of who comes and approaches them, and that if they feel uneasy about any approach, to contact police.”