Police have arrested a man after a woman in a Somerset village was “charged at” by an individual wearing a gimp suit.
The victim, who is aged in her 20s, was walking through Claverham, on Thursday night when the incident took place.
She told the BBC: “I was walking along with my torch and I looked up to see someone charging at me in a full black rubbery suit and managed to take a picture.
“He kept coming towards me and was touching his groin, grunting and breathing heavy.”
She told the broadcaster she began pushing and screaming at the man, prompting him to run back to the main road.
The victim added: “Every time I close my eyes I just see that face.”
Avon and Somerset Police said a man in his 20s has been arrested on suspicion of indecency offences following 14 reports of a man approaching people while wearing disguises.
The woman’s husband later posted about the incident on Facebook, expressing his relief his wife was not physically injured and urging: “Please all keep yourself safe, especially woman and girls, don’t be leaving your properties alone at night when dark until this man is caught.”
A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said: “We’ve arrested a man in his 20s on suspicion of indecency offences in the Claverham/Yatton area.
“It follows 14 reports of a man approaching people while wearing disguises, one of which was a black body suit.
“The man is in custody and enquiries into the series are ongoing.”
The spokesman earlier said the force had received a number of reports relating to a man jumping out at people in the Claverham and Yatton areas.
He said: “The latest incident, which happened at approximately 11.55pm on Thursday, saw a man in a black body suit approach a woman in the Claverham Park area. The man made an indecent gesture and then ran away after the woman stood her ground.
“While we’re keeping an open mind about the motive for these incidents, it’s clear the individual responsible is deliberately attempting to cause alarm to the men and women he’s approaching.
“We fully appreciate the distress these actions have caused victims but thankfully, no one has been physically hurt during any of the incidents.
“We’re keen to reassure the community we’re doing all we can to identify and locate the man responsible. We’ve increased patrols in the area and officers have also carried out house to house enquiries.
“Anyone with information about the man’s identity is asked to phone 101 and provide the call handler with the reference 5219158435.”