A SEXUAL predator suspected of approaching two schoolgirls in Whitefield may have struck in Radcliffe.

On Monday January 6, police say a 15-year-old girl was making her way home from school at 5.10pm along Coronation Road, near the junction with Pilkington Road, when a black saloon car pulled alongside her.

The driver wound down the window and asked her for directions to Turks Road.

She gave him directions, and then the man asked how to get to Bury town centre. He then offered to give her a lift home.

The girl said “no” and walked off, telling her parents what had happened.

Police are linking the approach to the Whitefield incidents before Christmas. On the first occasion, at about 4.30pm on December 3, a man driving a black saloon car approached a girl in Ribble Drive, near the junction of Beverley Close.

He asked the girl for directions to Whitefield Metrolink Station and then asked her to get in the car and show him the way.

She got in and the man touched her inappropriately and in a sexual way several times on the journey.

As they reached Mather Avenue, the girl asked him to stop the car which he did.

The man was described as white, in his late 40s or 50s with short grey hair, of heavy build, and was wearing a shirt and tie.

On December 19, at about 3.30pm, a man fitting a similar description driving a car of the same description stopped on the same stretch of Ribble Drive.

He asked a 13-year-old girl for directions to Whitefield Metrolink Station.

She gave directions and walked on, but he called her back to the car where he exposed himself, causing the girl to run off.

Detective Sergeant Ben Cottam, of Bury Police, said: “We are appealing to any witnesses to these incidents to get in touch. We’re also keen to hear from anyone else who may have had a similar experience but who has not yet reported it to police for whatever reason.”

Police can be contacted on 0161 856 4540.