DETECTIVES in Essex are appealing to the Chinese community in Swindon to find out if a suspected rapist is hiding out in the town.

They are trying to track down 37-year-old Cheng Ho, of no fixed address, and believe he is living within a Chinese community somewhere in the UK.

The rape happened in Warley, near Brentwood, when a 32-year-old Chinese woman was sexually assaulted in a flat above a Chinese takeaway in Warley Hill, in the early hours of April 24.

Investigating Officer, DC Nigel Garwood, said: “The language barrier between ourselves and the victim has led to this investigation being drawn-out, but we have now got somewhere. We have a suspect and we need people to help us arrest him so that we can put the allegations made against him to him.

“We would ask people to look closely at his picture and his name, and contact us with his whereabouts.”

Anyone with information in connection with this rape is urged to contact detectives at Brentwood’s Sexual Offences Investigation Team on the 101 number.