POLICE are once again urging parents to be on their guard following a string of sex crimes against Blackpool schoolgirls.

As reported in The Citizen last week (May 8), officers issued the warning after three separate incidents where a sex pervert exposed himself to girls aged between eight and 10 in the resort.

The first incident happened at around 7.15pm on Thursday, May 1, when a two young girls were approached by a middle-aged man close to Devonshire Square.

They ran away after the man -- who is described as around 5ft 2ins tall, with short dark hair, dark clothes, scarf and coat -- revealed himself before making indecent suggestions.

The second set of incidents occurred within 20 minutes of each other on Tuesday, May 6, in central Blackpool.

Two young female friends were approached from behind by man in his 40s, with dark hair, glasses and wearing a buttoned coat, at around 6.45pm near to the junction of Milbourne Street and Buchanan Street.

He exposed himself to them as they turned round to face him.

The final incident took place just after 7pm when another pair of girls were 'flashed' at by a man fitting a similar description as they played in an alleyway between Westmorland Avenue and Grasmere Road in the town.

In both these cases the offender performed an indecent act before they could run away.

A police spokesman said: "Anybody with any information about these incidents or who feels they may know or have met this individual should come forward.

"Specially trained officers are still in the process of interviewing the victims, but we are making headway with the investigation.

"We would also like to, once again, urge parents to be vigilant against any suspicious characters or situations their children may have come up against. It is vital to contact us immediately if their child is the victim of a crime similar to those last week."

Anyone with information relating to any of these crimes should contact Blackpool Police on 01253 293933 quoting crime reference AX266 for the Devonshire Square incident, AM2379 for the Westmorland Avenue case and AX2784 for the Milbourne Street crime.