POLICE hunting a town centre rapist are to appeal for help in catching their number one suspect.

At the moment they are not prepared to name the man they want to interview but hope to do so next week.

Details of the police plan were accidentally released before the inquiry team was ready to deal with the public response to the appeal.

Now a senior officer has admitted the force could face criticism if the rapist strikes again before officers release details of the wanted man.

Police have details of a man wanted for questioning in connection with the rape of the 15-year-old girl in the grounds of St Mary's Church, Nelson, on November 9.

The girl was walking home around 8.30pm when she was initially approached by the man in the town centre outside the Lord Nelson pub. Police said the two had a brief conversation during which time the man pulled the girl's hair in a flirtatious way before she rejected his advances and walked off.

She continued along back Manchester Road and then on to the main road itself but as she walked past the entrance to St Mary's churchyard she was dragged into the grounds and subjected to a violent assault and raped. The attacker put his hand over her mouth to stop her screaming out.

Police said the man had approached other women in the area before the attack and were concerned he may strike again.

Police described the rapist as Asian, between 30 and 40 years old, around 5ft 9ins to 5ft 11ins tall, of stocky build with dark receding hair.

But the senior detective leading the hunt for the rapist said details of the man they want to speak to can not be released until next week because a publicity campaign was still being co-ordinated and the inquiry team was not ready to deal with the expected calls from the public. Detective Inspector Ron Griffiths, who is leading the hunt, said he could be in a position to release details next Tueday or Wednesday, even though unauthorised details about the new move to catch the girl's attacker have already been released.

"We're not ready to release details yet," said DI Griffiths. "We do not want to compromise the investigation. It has to be done properly."

DI Griffiths refused to give any details about the suspect or whether he was believed to be in the local area. "It's an operational matter and we do not want to compromise the investigation," he added. "We need to co-ordinate this properly and have people in place to deal with the calls that come in from this appeal."

It is hoped the man named in the publicity launch will come forward voluntarily or the public will help police discover his whereabouts.

Anyone with any information about the incident is asked to contact Nelson CID on 01282 472644 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

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