A FLASHER was confronted by angry members of the public after repeatedly exposing himself to young girls and elderly ladies.

Several reports have been received of a man exposing himself to strangers at a nature reserve popular with families and dog walkers.

During the past week Two Tree Island Nature Reserve in Leigh, which is managed by Essex Wildlife Trust, has become the preferred site for a man harassing various women, including one in her 30s who reported the incident to the police.

On one occasion, after he flashed a teenage girl and two pensioners a group of concerned residents surrounded his car and tried to stop him driving off.

All the victims were female dog walkers.

It is alleged the perpetrator has been sitting in his car waiting for victims to arrive with some claiming to have seen him repeatedly return.

Jo Rodgers, 52, of Hadleigh Road, shared an appeal for information online after meeting the victim of one of the attacks as she made her own way onto the reserve to walk her dog.

She said: “I arrived on the reserve at around 5pm on Thursday as I always do, and the first thing I saw was a group of people standing together in the car park.

“There was quite clearly something wrong - it turns out that I had passed him leaving the reserve as I drove in but I had no idea what had happened until I spoke to the elderly women who had seen him.

“It is just absolutely disgusting, a lot of families come down here to walk their dogs because it is absolutely beautiful.

“It’s horrifying to think that something like this could happen at any time, to anyone, and turns what should be a really peaceful place into somewhere people are afraid to go.

“You see the same people here with their dogs day in, day out, and in lots of ways it is like a little community of its own.

“I just hope that something can be done by the police to prevent this from happening again in the future.”

A spokesman for Essex Police said: “We are investigating following an incident in Leigh.

“A woman in her 30s reported a man acting inappropriately on Two Tree Island at around 1.15pm on Thursday, June 7.

“If you have any information about the incident please contact us on 101 quoting the crime reference number 42/79807/18 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

Essex Wildlife Trust urged victims to contact the police.