A Clifton woman was left feeling 'violated' after a naked man wearing only a face mask began pleasuring himself as she sunbathed with a female friend.
The woman in her 20s, who wishes to remain anonymous, said she froze in disbelief after the shocking discovery.
"I didn't know what to do, he was stark naked with a blue covid mask on - presuming to hide his identity," she said.
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While lounging on the grass with her friend she claims she heard strange noises before turning around to see a man laying close by vigorously massaging his private area in their direction.
Disturbed by what they saw, both friends were stunned to the point of being frozen.
"He was very close, completely exposed, leaning on one arm, directing it at us. It was completely disgusting - he was doing it so aggressively and openly.
“We were just really traumatised and shocked," she said.
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She said the incident was spotted by another man who immediately ran over and called the police before the man quickly got up and scurried away.
According to her, the incident happened by the Pembroke Road turning at around 4.30pm on Wednesday (July 14) - but they were not the only ones.
She claims the police had already been notified of the same misconduct earlier in the day by two other females who spotted the man hiding in a bush.
She believes the man could be a ‘serial’ offender and he must be stopped.
“It genuinely just terrified me and I am concerned that what happened to me is not an isolated incident," she added.
"I often go to the Downs alone to sunbathe or maybe take a book to read - but I don't think twice about being there.
“I just felt completely violated in what I thought was a safe space."
She describes being shaken up by the ordeal and now wants the police to help.
“I didn’t know there were other occurrences and after doing some research I found there had been previous sexual assaults in the area,” she said.
Having discovered this, she said she would have made the decision to sunbathe nearer to a large group of people.
"Just being with a group of females isn't enough to stop this from happening."
She wants to make visitors who enjoy the green space to stay vigilant for their own safety and mitigate the incident from happening again.
"This happened in bright daylight, out in the open. Which makes it even more shocking, but proves that this guy is comfortable doing it and has no shame.
"He clearly doesn’t think about his victims," she added.
A spokesperson from Avon and Somerset police said: "At 5.20pm on Wednesday, 14 July we received a report a man was performing an indecent act in undergrowth off Northcote Road, Clifton.
"Officers attended and carried out an extensive search of the area but the man wasn’t found.
"Daily patrols of the Downs and surrounding areas continue to take place and neighbourhood officers have been made aware of the incident and will continue to look out for the offender.
"Anyone who has witnessed similar incidents is asked to contact us.
"We’d also be keen to hear from anyone who was in the area at the time of the incident and may have information which could help us identify the man who is described as white, aged in his 50s, 5ft 10ins tall, of medium build with short grey hair.
"If you can help, call 101 and provide the call handler with the reference 5221159072."
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