POLICE were today investigating claims that a man was seen watching children near Burnley's Towneley Park two days before an 11-year-old girl was attacked.

Mrs Kathryn Kendall, 39, of Linby Street, said the man was seen on Monday evening looking at children playing through a pair of binoculars.

The schoolgirl was attacked on Wednesday as she walked home.

But despite a call to Burnley Police Station, Mrs Kendall said that no one had been to ask her about the incident.

She said she was planning to lodge an official complaint.

She said: "I called the police because I didn't want anything to happen to anybody and then two days later a young girl is attacked."

Detective Inspector Simon Leach, of Burnley CID, said he would investigate the reported sighting and Mrs Kendall's complaint but could not comment further.

Mrs Kendall, who has three daughters and two sons, said that the streets near Towneley Park were deserted after dark following the attack.

Parents were put on red alert after the man leapt on to the child from a tree in Towneley Park, Burnley, put his hand over her mouth and carried her dangling 18in from the ground.

She escaped after kicking him in the groin.

Today police said the girl had told them in further interviews that her attacker was wearing a pair of black gloves with red fingertips, possibly a pair of heavy duty industrial gloves.

The gloves have the word Patrick written or stitched on to the cuff and a mesh pattern on the palms.

Police said the man had thrown the gloves away into the stream near where the attack took place, although a search had failed to find them.

Det Insp Leach said: "It's possible that either the offender returned to the scene to retrieve the gloves or that someone else has picked them up.

"If that is the case I would urge anyone who has found a pair of gloves matching this description to contact us immediately and not to handle them any more.

"Also if anyone knows anyone who has a pair of gloves like this they should also get in touch as a matter of urgency. We are treating this as a significant lead and line of inquiry."

The girl also told police the man had distinctive tattoos of a love heart with an arrow going through it on his left upper arm, a skull with a knife in the eye on the right upper arm and a curled up snake on his right forearm.

The man is described as white, mid 60s, 5ft 10 ins tall, muscular, with grey straggly hair with a clip-on pony tail, goatee style beard and moustache, wrinkly face, wearing gold rimmed glasses, a navy vest and black boots.

Police are keen to stress that no sexual assault took place.

Anyone with information should call Burnley Police station on 01282 425001 or Crimestoppers 0800 555 111.