A man in his 40s is reported to have suffered a serious sexual assault in north Belfast on January 7.

Detectives are appealing for information about the incident which happened in the Woodvale Avenue area.

Detective Sergeant Corry said: “At around 7:30pm, it was reported that a man in his 40s was walking in the area with his two dogs when he was approached by three unknown men and sexually assaulted.

“All three men are described as being in their 40s and approximately 5ft 8ins in height.

"The first man is of stocky build, bald and wearing a multi-coloured top.

"The second, of slim build with stubble and wearing a black top and the third also of stocky build, believed to be wearing a grey tracksuit top, grey tracksuit bottoms and white trainers.

"This man is also believed to have a spiral design tattoo on his inner forearm.

“Enquiries are continuing and we would appeal to anyone who may have seen men in the area matching these descriptions around the time of the reported assault to contact police on 101, quoting reference number 291 08/01/23.

“You can submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ . You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/.”