A hammer-wielding thug who targets lone females in the early hours of the morning is still at large.

Police are warning women to be careful after two encounters with the hooded character in the Elm Grove area of Brighton in less than a week.

In both cases the suspect threatened his victims with a claw hammer and demanded they hand over their money and phones.

The first incident happened on November 19 shortly after 1am.

A 21-year-old woman was walking back across the Level after finishing work.
As she made her way up Elm Grove she was approached by a man on the corner of Howard Road carrying a claw hammer.

He threatened her to hand over her money and phone which she duly agreed to. She described him as white, about 5ft 5in, of slim to medium build and aged in his late teens but no older than 21.

He was said to be wearing a grey hooded top with blue stripes down the side. The second incident happened on November 24 at around 5.25am.

A 20-year-old had just got out a taxi with friends at the bottom of Elm Grove.

After saying goodbye to her pals she carried on walking up the road when she was approached by a man near to the corner of Bonchurch Road.

The suspect demanded she hand over her phone before revealing the top of a hammer he had tucked in his trousers.

The victim thought this was a joke and managed to run away. She described the suspect as white, aged about 20, 5ft 6in and of skinny build.

He was wearing a light blue hooded top with the hood up and a balaclava or scarf covering the bottom of his face which had either a Chinese or a ‘NY’ symbol on it.

Detective Constable Leianne Blampied said: “We are appealing for witnesses so we can try and identify who the suspect might be.

“This was a frightening ordeal for the victims and we want to catch the person responsible.”

Anyone with information should contact police on 101 quoting serial 0256 of 24/11 or email 101@sussex.pnn.police.uk.