PARENTS were today placed on red alert after an 11-year-old girl was attacked as she walked home through a park.

A man leapt onto the child from a tree in Towneley Park, Burnley, put his hand over her mouth and carried her dangling 18 inches from the ground.

She escaped after kicking him in the groin.

The girl told police the man had 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.

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Brian, of Burnley CID, said information about the incident, at 4.30pm on Wednesday, was not immediately released to allow time seal the area and investigate.

DCI Brian added: "We are treating this as an extremely serious incident. We are not relating it to any other attacks and we don't yet know the motive but we are very concerned. Parents and children should be very careful."

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 ashould call Burnley Police station on 01282 425001 or Crimestoppers 0800 555 111.