The police have increased their presence on Auckland's North Shore after four assaults on women using walking tracks there.
The walkway on the North Shore where one of the victims of a series of assaults was attacked. Photo: RNZ / Liu Chen
They believe all four attacks were carried out by the same man, and are describing them as serious, appalling and unprovoked.
In the first attack, early last month, a woman on a walkway in Murrays Bay suffered multiple injuries, including a broken collar bone and concussion, when she was grabbed from behind and thrown to the ground.
Two weeks later, a woman jogging in the same area was attacked and left with a broken nose, and two days after that a woman walking in Moire Park in Massey was assaulted.
The latest victim was assaulted earlier this month as she was running along a walkway between Browns Bay Road and Beechwood Road.
The attacker is described as a man with an olive complexion, aged from his mid 20s to mid 30s, with a bun in his hair.
Earlier this month the police released CCTV footage of a man they believe may be able to help with their enquiries. They say the man was on Beechwood Road around the time of the assault on a woman on a walking track near Browns Bay.
A screenshot of the man police are interested in talking to. Photo: NZ Police