A SEX pest who looks like soccer ace Eric Cantona and preys on schoolgirls has struck again, despite a high-profile police campaign to catch him.

The pervert exposed himself to a 14-year-old girl on a busy main road in the latest incident.

He is now believed to have struck more than 40 times, often in the Whalley Road area of town.

One 18-year-old woman has now come forward to tell police the man has exposed himself to her seven times.

Police want to speak to three girls who saw the pest in a late night incident but who have not reported the matter.

The latest incident happened at 6.30pm on Wednesday as the 14-year-old was walking near the United Reformed Church on Whalley Road.

The man, who didn't speak, stood in a doorway, exposed himself to the girl and committed a sex act.

The frightened girl fled to a friend's house nearby. Two boys went to the scene to look for the man, but he had disappeared. When the girl got home she told her mother, who contacted the police.

The girl described the man as white, in his mid 40s, and about 5ft 8ins tall with short, dark hair. He had a distinctive overhanging belly and wore a knitted jumper and a dark coat.

PC Jane Lawrenson of Accrington Police said: "The man must live on or around Whalley Road and somebody must know who he is."

If you have information, call Accrington Police on 01254 382141.

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