POLICE are investigating reports that two schoolgirls were indecently assaulted by a man who chased them through Bolton town centre.

The two 15-year-old friends had left a fast food outlet and were walking past a telephone kiosk in Oxford Street at about 6.30pm on Wednesday.

They noticed a man was using the telephone and he repeatedly asked them to speak to his friend on the other end of the line.

The teenagers were reluctant but eventually one agreed to listen to the receiver and could only hear the dialing tone.

The man suddenly grabbed hold of them and indecently assaulted them but they ran away.

He chased after them and followed them into the women's toilets inside another fast food outlet where he indecently assaulted them again.

The teenagers managed to break free and ran out.

They caught a bus back to one of the girl's homes in Leigh where they told their parents what happened and the police were called.

The two are fue to be interviewed via video link by specially trained officers.

Detectives are studying CCTV footage from the town centre to see if they can identify the man.

The man is described as black, late 20s, slim build, with short black hair and a black goatee beard. He spoke with a foreign accent and was wearing a red coat, blue jeans and blue thermal gloves."

Anyone with information should call Bolton CID on 0161 856 5640.