A 14-YEAR-OLD girl was sexually assaulted as she made her way home from school.

The teenager was walking with a friend in Newmarket Road in Little Lever at about 5.30pm on Thursday evening when she was approached by a man riding a bicycle.

The friends had stopped to stroke a horse in a field next to the road and the cyclist pulled over to talk to them.

Shortly after he put his hand up the skirt of the 14-year-old but she was able to fight him off.

As he was cycling away, the brave teen managed to snap a picture of the offender and she has handed this to police officers to help with their investigation.

The victim – who cannot be named for legal reasons – was left in an "hysterical" state following the incident, according to her mother.

She said: "I am absolutely disgusted that this has happened to my daughter — I feel sick.

"But I am so proud of her for the way she acted and the fact she was able to get a picture of him, I can’t praise her enough.

"I don’t want this to happen to anyone else’s children so we need to make sure he is found."

She added: "At the moment my daughter is being very brave but we don’t know how this horrible incident could affect her in the future."

The suspect is described as white, in his late 30s, with pale skin and distinctive long, brown beard.

He was wearing navy blue trousers, a white T-shirt and was carrying two dark drawstring bags. His mountain bike was a dark colour.

Inspector Paul Devall, of GMP's Bolton borough, said: "People will be understandably concerned and I assure you that we have a dedicated team of detectives working to catch the offender and extra officers on patrol in the area.

"Help and support will always be there for people who want to come forward and report sexual offences or speak to someone about concerns they may have."

The secondary school the victim attends issued a letter to parents to say: "We have been informed by the police of an incident which occurred in the local area where a student was approached by a man.

"I am writing to inform you of this and to ask your children to be vigilant on their way to and from school.

"We have spoken to all our students this afternoon to inform them that they must be vigilant on their way home from school tonight and where possible try not to walk home on their own.

"The police are dealing with the situation and have asked us to inform students and parents to be aware of the incident.

"We would be very grateful if you could reinforce this message with your children tonight and over the weekend."

n Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 quoting incident number 1983 of 22/09/16 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.