Staff at the Butlins holiday camp in Bognor are being quizzed in the hunt for a sex attacker who has targeted four women.

Detectives said more than 100 male staff at the camp matched the description of the man wanted in connection with an alleged rape and three indecent assaults.

Sussex Police are also appealing for a man found lurking in bushes on the perimeter fence of the camp to contact them.

He fled on an old racing bike when challenged by security guards on Tuesday night.

At a news conference today, Detective Inspector Tony O'Donnell, who is leading Operation Magellan, said: "The police are receiving good co-operation and assistance from the management of Butlins.

"As a result of these offences we are working through a list of staff personnel in an attempt to eliminate members of staff as potential suspects.

"We have identified in excess of 100 members of staff who could fall within the parameters of our description so there is a lot of work to be done."

Mr O'Donnell said he could not rule out the possibility that the attacker, dubbed the Beast of Bognor by some newspapers, was a holidaymaker at the camp.

He said: "It could be a holidaymaker. It may be someone who has an intimate knowledge of the surrounding camp and feels comfortable there, or that he lives nearby or is connected in some way."

Several calls have been received by members of the public after police released images caught by a CCTV camera of the man disturbed in bushes at the camp in Gloucester Road.

Mr O'Donnell said they had a possible name for the man but stressed again that at this stage he is not a suspect.

He said: "A number of investigative leads are being pursued and police are hopeful of a successful conclusion to this inquiry.

"The man on the bike is not a suspect but is someone we wish to speak to."

Acting Detective Chief Inspector Neil Fellingham, also working on the inquiry, said: "These victims have been attacked by someone coming from behind.

"The man may be hiding or waiting for people to come by and that is why we have stepped up patrols of areas which are dark around the perimeter fence."

The first attack was on August 10 when a woman said she was raped just inside the grounds of the Butlins camp.

The second attack came four days later when a woman was indecently assaulted, again just inside the camp perimeter.

On August 18, a third woman reported being assaulted by a man.

Sussex Police said the fourth attack in the early hours of Tuesday happened in the grounds of the camp when a man grabbed a woman, kissed her and pushed her on to a bench. She struggled free.

One of the victims - all aged around 21 - was a guest at the camp. The other three were local and two had connections with the camp.

It not thought any of the victims knew each other.

Electronically generated images of the attacker, said to be white or tanned in appearance, 5ft 8in tall, slim with very short mousy brown hair, were being created today.

Police said they were happy with security measures taken by Butlins bosses, who have doubled the number of security guards patrolling the camp from 20 to 40.

Mr Fellingham warned: "We are very concerned by what could happen.

"People should be wary that there have been four attacks but if they stick together in well lit areas and let others know where they are going then they should be safe enough."