There have now been more than a dozen reports of a flasher in my local woodland

[AutoGroup]

Popular with runners and dog walkers, a place where I often run alone myself.

Police say they've had this many reports, it's not just social media stuff.

It's only a small area. The main trail where these events have all taken place is about 2 miles long.

In the last 2 reports he has not "just" exposed himself but grabbed women too.

How hard can it be to catch him? It feels like nothing is being done although police and the local councillor say they're making every effort etc.

I have continued to run there, refusing to be beaten by him, but I'm starting to waiver now. Would you? There's a part of me that hopes I do see him so I can perform some sort of knee to the nuts and a citizen's arrest (is that even a thing?) but I realise that's naive.

Have you got a GoPro and run with a friend?

How would a go pro help?! I wouldn’t, no. A lot of serious sexual assaults are committed by men with a history of flashing. You don’t want to be the one he decides to step things up with and as there are more reports he starts to get more to lose/higher risk.

Another runner who prefers Woodlands - as many have said this individual is escalating - please don’t run there .

I wouldn’t go there, at least not alone, until he was caught. As pp have said, by the sounds of it, his behavior is escalating and I wouldn’t risk it. Hopefully they’ll catch him soon. The place where I grew up outside the UK, a small village surrounded by country side, has been terrorized by the same serial rapist for over 20 years. They still haven’t caught him. His trick was to disguise himself as garbage (the irony) laying by the side of cycling paths near the forest and attack passing women at knife point. It’s not unlikely that he also starred as a flasher, many years ago. Please be careful. These men are dangerous and as much as I agree with you that you should be able to do as you wish, the reality is that you’re taking a big risk.

Started not starred obviously

Didn't Wayne Couzins get caught flashing shortly before he murdered Sarah?

Shit that you have to but yes, I would avoid running there for now if I were you OP, sorry. We have the same happening here, several reports so far and even a photo circulating now but still no arrest, town begins W although it seems we're far from alone so doubt it's where you are. How depressing

Fit yy, I listened to that Fair Cop episode yesterday. It was hard but he really wanted to get the bloke as he knew it could escalate.

Yes, he was reported to the police for flashing in McDonald's.

Wouldn't be LH would it? The one there seems to be escalating into chasing someone as well as flashing in the last week! I have been up there on my own recently without any bother but always at relatively busy times of the day & stuck to the main paths where there are always lots of dog walkers

Oh God please don't run there. You know there's a sex offender with multiple attacks/exposures who keeps coming back to offend within a specific 2mile stretch. That's a signal that of all the places you should choose to run, that 2 mile stretch should be the last place on earth you should be!! Nobody's got the best of you if you don't go. It's just looking after yourself!!

Can you run with someone else OP?

Just don't do it op.

I run with an alarm but would swerve the area while on my own for a while.

I got the alarm when police were looking for a multiple offender who was operating too close to my area, but not in it.
I feel safer in quiet open countryside as it's so quiet as to be a poor target for waiting for passers by. I'm more cautious about locally known places with a steady trickle every few minutes.

I refuse to spend my life cowering inside from a generic rusk, but do avoid a threat so specific and localised.

@Crockof

I wouldn't, not because of the flashing, but because it usually escalates.

This ^^

I wouldn't as he's already escalating it by grabbing.

If you do though and you see him, run like hell, no kneeling in the nuts no matter how satisfying it would be, it's far safer if possible to just get away, attack only if he's grabbed you and you can't get away.

I wouldn’t go alone at the moment because as pervious posters have said his behaviour is escalating.

I remember there was a flasher who waited outside the primary schools in my local area. In the school I used to work at he waited in the trees outside the infants entrance and flashed a two children and their mum. The police came but I don’t know if he was caught but it chills me to think what he did next.

Sorry that is not very reassuring but it is a worrying situation.

Very very Naive !

You won’t know what action the Police are taking.

I suspect if the flasher is ever caught it will turn out to be a woman. This sort of sexual crime is on the rise in women.

You’re not in south east London are you? Reports of the same at a woodland local to me. I’m being vague on area but you’d probably know if you lived there. I would stop running there personally - yes, it’s very tempting to think you’d knee him and bring the fucker down but you don’t know what he’s capable of

I would avoid the area his behaviour is escalating and will continue to

Sex offenders so often start with flashing or what we used to call being a peeping Tom (which sounds like a child’s game)

If this is Whitmoor Common I'm Guildford, you should probably hold back from going out on your own in the woods. It's certainly not safe. It's really scary at the moment. Can you not stick to road running for now until he is caught?

Unlike the chances of anything coming from Mars being a million to one (**) it seems this is quite common all over the place. How depressing.

**That's my cryptic guess at the location.

@StealthPolarBear

I suspect if the flasher is ever caught it will turn out to be a woman. This sort of sexual crime is on the rise in women.

I think the person being flashed at would be able to tell if it was a man or a woman. I have never heard of this phenomenon.