A 16-year-old boy fought off a would-be attacker by punching him in the face.

The man followed the teenager before making sexual comments and grabbing him.

But the brave schoolboy retaliated and hit the man – who was wearing leather trousers - on the side of his face. He then ran away.

The incident took place along a main road in broad daylight.

It is one of a spate of attempted abductions which have occurred in the Brighton and West Sussex areas over the past few weeks.

The boy was followed along London Road, Pyecombe, at 3pm last Friday.

A Sussex Police spokeswoman said: “A 16-year-old boy was approached by a man in a car.

“The man made sexual comments to the boy and followed him as he walked.

“The man grabbed the boy by the arm and the boy punched him to the left side of his face and ran from the scene.

“The man is described as white, aged between 25 and 33, with blond or ginger hair which was the same length all over, slim build with long legs, between 6ft and 6ft 2in tall.

“He wore rectangular glasses and had stubble all over his face. He wore black leather trousers, tanned pointy shoes and a grey long-sleeved top.”

The incident is not being linked to reports of attempted abductions in Haywards Heath.

Last month Sussex Police received two reports regarding a man acting suspiciously in the area around Harlands Primary School, in Penland Road in the town.

Officers carried out intelligence work along with high visibility patrols and no further incidents were reported.

But on Monday police received a call at 9.20am from a parent reporting that a man matching the description of the man in the previous two reports had been seen in the area. At no point did he attempt to speak to any children.

Officers visited the school and spoke to the children during assembly about how to keep themselves safe. Officers also patrolled the area on Tuesday (12).

The man is described as having grey hair, black stubble, aged in his 40s and wearing black sunglasses. On one occasion he wore a cowboy hat.

Chief Inspector Ed De La Rue said: “All parents should encourage their children to follow the stranger danger rules and never talk to or go with a stranger.

“If they are approached tell them to shout ‘no’ as loud as they can and go back into their house, school or another safe place and tell a trusted adult what has happened.

“They should never go off on their own without telling their parents or a trusted adult.”

Anyone with information about these incidents should contact Sussex Police on 0845 6070999 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.