A man suspected of abducting a seven-year-old from a family party posed as a guest.

The man gatecrashed the party in Portslade Town Hall where he grabbed the girl from the foyer just after midnight on Sunday morning He bundled her outside and pushed her through a fence and into some bushes.

The victim, who has not been named, was left scratched, bruised and "extremely traumatised" by the attack.

Detective Chief Inspector John Levett is leading a team of 12 detectives investigating the abduction. They have set up an incident room at Hove police station under the codename Operation Resort.

Mr Levett said: "The victim is still too upset to talk in any detail about what happened. She is extremely traumatised. "We do know that the man suspected of carrying out the attack had not been invited to the party.

"Several people noticed him in the hall eating food a short time beforehand. They did not know who he was and we have established that he was not invited and had not gone with anyone else to the party."

He said he was keen to speak to anyone who held an event at the town hall in Victoria Road recently and who had experienced a similar gatecrasher.

Detectives were still keeping an open mind about a possible link to an attempted abduction in Southwick on March 12. A man tried to snatch a three-year-old girl from her mother in the children's play area on The Green.

Mr Levett said: "Although they took place at different times of day, they were both very bold attacks. In both cases we are talking about potentially dangerous men.

"We are taking this investigation very seriously and are concentrating a great deal of resources into it."

The Portslade suspect is described as in his late 20s to mid 50s, between 5ft 6in and 5ft 10in. He had short dark hair and wore a dark red, yachting-style jacket, blue jeans and white trainers.

Anyone with information is asked to call Hove police on 0854 6070999.