POLICE are today hunting a sex attacker who assaulted three young boys at a Sussex railway station.

An 11-year-old and two younger friends were attacked at Glynde station and on the train between Lewes and Falmer. It is the fourth serious sex assault on train-users in Sussex in four weeks, although police say there is no immediate link. Connex South Central today put up a £5,000 reward for information leading to a conviction following the latest attack. The 11-year-old and his friends, brothers aged eight and six, encountered their attacker at Lewes station after travelling from their homes in Moulsecoomb, Brighton. Although the incident happened on February 20, transport police have only just released details. The man took the boys on the train to Glynde, where the assaults took place in public toilets and under a road bridge over the station's platforms. They were molested again in a first-class compartment as the man took them back to Moulsecoomb by train. The children told police the attacker threatened them with a gun during his assaults. The ordeal began when the man took the boys on the 5.09pm departure from Lewes, arriving at Glynde station at 5.14pm. They left the station to walk the five minutes to some public toilets next to a park, where the three boys were indecently assaulted. They left the toilets and walked a little further into the village before returning to Glynde station. The older boy was then seriously assaulted beneath a road bridge over the platform. Some time after the attacks, the man tried to get the children to go on the railway line. When they refused, he picked each of them up in turn and shook them over the track. All four returned to Moulsecoomb, probably on the 6.54pm from Glynde, although police believe this may have been the 7.54pm departure. They travelled first class from Glynde. Between Lewes and Falmer a further indecent assault took place. When the boys approached a man in another part of the train asking for help, he allegedly replied: "What do you want me to do about it?". Awoman passenger is also believed to have walked through the first class carriage. Anyone with information is urged to contact British Transport Police on 0171-387-0354.

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