Could it be same person as last year?

This is not the first time police have hunted a man in Ashford for flashing at young girls.

In February last year, four separate e-fit images were released in the search for one man believed to be responsible for four reports of indecent exposure close to Ashford schools.

The images were based on witness descriptions, and despite some differences, police linked all the incidents and said they were searching for one man.

The first sighting happened at a bus stop in Maidstone Road, near Highworth Grammar School, where several young girls were waiting.

Described as being between 20 to 25-years-old and wearing jeans and a T-shirt, the man was reported to have been touching himself.

The next day on Kingsnorth Road, close to The John Wallis Academy, a man – wearing no trousers – drove alongside an 11-year-old girl and asked her for directions to Ashford town centre.

Then, on January 14, a 12-year-old girl was waiting at a bus stop at the junction of Quantock Road and Maidstone Road when a white Ford van drove up and stopped. The girl saw the driver pull his trousers down and touch himself.

The final incident happened on January 15 when two girls, aged 11 and 12, were waiting at the bus stop opposite the Tesco filling station in Park Farm when a white van pulled up.

The driver was seen performing a sex act.

When asked if police were linking the 2014 incidents with the ones this month, a spokesman said: “We are keeping an open mind as to whether or not the recent incidents are linked to the ones last year.”