Police are hunting a sex pest who grabbed a 12-year-old Sussex girl and chased her home.

The man has been spotted loitering round the victim's home twice since and may be behind similar incidents involving two other young girls, all in Newhaven.

The girl was hysterical after a man grabbed her arm and chased her as she was making her way home on Wednesday last week.

Her mother said: "I had to call a doctor and she had to be sedated."

The woman said she did not feel police were taking the incident seriously enough and wanted to warn other parents.

Sussex Police today said they had alerted all officers in the area and had increased the number of patrols.

A spokesman said: "Thorough searches have been carried out each time.

"We take the welfare of children very seriously, particularly when we receive reports of attempted abductions."

The mother called police immediately after the first incident.

She said: "They said they would call back and when they did, two hours later, they said an officer would be round in the morning.

"Later the same night we saw the same man loitering outside our home. Police turned up this time and brought a sniffer dog but the man escaped."

The mother said the man followed her home on Monday evening this week and was spotted looking through her kitchen window at her daughter.

The mother said: "I heard that a man has been seen watching two other girls in Newhaven. I want more action from the police before something serious happens."

The man is white, in his late 20s, lanky and wore black trainers with white laces, a black baseball cap and light-coloured hooded top. Call police on 0845 6070999.