The Sunderland Echo has offered a £500 reward in a bid to catch a “depraved” sex attacker who may have struck twice on a local estate.

An indecent assault on an 87-year-old widow on August 6 has been linked to a similar attack on a 78-year-old widow in January.

Local police have said the same man was probably responsible for both assaults.

Echo editor Rob Lawson said: “It was the second particularly vicious attack on an elderly pensioner in the area and the police didn’t seem any closer to catching the culprit.

“We felt we needed to do something to encourage people to come forward. Rather than just reporting the case we thought we would be more proactive.

“We have done this once before, but it is not something we do as a matter of course. In this instance the police did say it was a very nasty attack and they have thanked us for offering the reward.”

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