TWO late-night sex attacks on teenage women in Brighton are being linked by police.

Yesterday they Argus reported that an 18-year-old woman had been grabbed in an "attempted sexual assault" on a footpath off Lewes Road.

Now police say a second woman suffered a similar attack near Moulsecoomb primary school later that night.

Detectives are connecting the two incidents.

Officers were first called when a woman reported being grabbed by a man near to Saunders Park.

The 18-year-old woman was walking on Lewes Road and was near an alleyway which leads into Saunders Park Rise at around 11.05pm, when a man grabbed her.

He snatched her mobile from her hand, threw it into a bush and threatened her.

A passer-by heard her scream and intervened and the man walked off.

Then at 11.50pm a 19-year-old woman was walking on Hodshrove Lane, near to Moulsecoomb Primary School.

She saw a man on a motorbike parked at the bottom of Hodshrove Lane at the junction with Lewes Road.

He grabbed her, pushed her against the railings and put his hand in her mouth.

She bit his finger and managed to escape.

Detective Inspector Duncan Elliott said: "We are investigating these as potentially linked and as attempted sexual assaults.

"Neither of the women were sexually assaulted but we are unsure of the suspect's intentions.

"The man in the first attack was described as 5ft 5in tall, very tanned, local accent, about 30-years-old, looked run-down and tired with what looked like acne scars, and was of a larger build.

"He was wearing a brown woollen beanie hat and a navy-blue coat.

"The man in the second attack was described as about 45 to 55 years old, with greying stubble and of average build. He was wearing motorbike gear.

"We are appealing for any witnesses to come forward.

"Anyone with information or who saw what happened is asked to contact police online quoting Operation Westdown."