A man carried out a sex assault on a woman in an Eastbourne alleyway while his accomplice watched.

The pair struck as the woman, in her 40s, walked down an alley behind houses in Birling Street and Northiam Road, Eastbourne.

One man pinned the woman down while the other watched before both fled towards Green Street.

The dazed victim was found more than an hour later in a distressed state by a member of the public, who called police.

Police carried out house-to-house inquiries following the attack at about 6pm on Saturday.

Acting Detective Sergeant Mark Ling, leading the investigation, said: "This was a serious assault on a woman who has understandably been left with deep mental scares as a result of the incident.

"Despite extensive inquiries in the immediate area, we have so far drawn a blank.

"We have been given some quite detailed descriptions of those who allegedly committed the offence and we need the public's help in tracing these individuals."

The man who carried out the assault is described as being in his early 20s, 6ft 2in, with dark brown, short hair. He had a metal hoop earring in his right earlobe, was clean shaven, had brown eyes and wore a black padded jacket, black jeans and white trainers.

He also wore a silver ring on the small finger of his right hand.

The second man is described as being white, aged 16-18, 5ft 3in, of plump build, with bad acne, wearing a dark coloured baseball cap. He had brown hair and wore a blue denim jacket, jeans and trainers.

Anyone with information should contact Sussex Police on 0845 6070999 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.