POLICE are investigating an alleged sex attack on a teenage girl in a Yate park.

Kingsgate Park was sealed off yesterday after officers received reports of an assault on Monday night.

The area was expected to remain closed to the public until today.

Kingsgate Park is a popular open space in the heart of the town.

During the school holidays it attracts children and their parents from all over Yate and further afield to use its adventure playground, which features aerial walkways threaded through a wooded area. The park also has a lake and a nature reserve.

Users said they discovered it was sealed off yesterday when they tried to go to the park.

Detectives said they were alerted at about 8pm on Monday and shut all the access points to the park to allow forensic investigations to take place.

They have appealed for anyone who was in the park around the time of the alleged attack, or who believes they have information that could help the police inquiry, to contact them.

Detective Inspector Jill Kells said: "Incidents like this are very rare, so I would urge members of the community to remain calm and not to speculate about this incident.

"Investigations are very much under way and crime scene investigators remain at the scene.

"I would now urge anyone who may have been in the park on Monday afternoon and may have noticed or heard anything suspicious to contact us."

Anyone who can help with inquiries is asked to call Staple Hill CID on 0845 456 7000 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.