Cops believe a lust-crazed "woman" who has been trying to drag men into bushes for sex could really be a man in drag.

Worried men have avoided a riverside footpath after a spate of attacks from a tracksuit-wearing horror with a bowl haircut and spots.

She told one shocked man who was out walking his dog: "I am desperate for sex, I haven't had it all day."

Police started a hunt for an ugly woman with an insatiable appetite for sex but it now seems their enquiries set off on the wrong track.

One of the victims, a 29-year-old salesman who asked not to be named, reckons "she" is a he.

The victim said he felt in no way physically threatened during the incident on Sunday evening on a path off Water Lane, York, even though it took him totally by surprise.

He said: "I told the police that this person said they were female and said they were 30 and from Hull.

"But personally I think it was a bloke aged between 14 and 18.

"He gave his name as Jane and told me the pathway was flooded, then started to follow me and made increasingly obscene sexual comments.

"I saw a neighbour of mine so I made a beeline for them and said: 'Just stay away from me, you're a bloke.' But he said he wasn't and pulled his coat open.

"He had a blue sweater on underneath and said: 'I told you I am a girl, I just haven't developed yet.'

"Then he grabbed my crotch. I said get away from me, and I just walked off. Even if it was a female I still wouldn't have done anything about it.

"I went over to my neighbour and the guy just disappeared.

"I wasn't going to bother calling the police, but if it's a young lad he could've approached anyone.

"Someone could have taken him into the woods and killed him.

"He obviously has a problem. I didn't feel threatened by him but I was totally surprised, I just wanted to get away."

A total of five men have contacted police to say they were approached.

And another man has contacted his local newspaper to say the same thing happened to him about four months ago and the "woman" seemed "disturbed".

This victim said: "Although, I have not seen the woman since or heard of any other similar incidents, I feel that it is surely only a matter of time before such a 'proposal' could be the cause of great harm to her."

Sergeant Colin Ventress of York Police said most of the men said they were approached by a female rather than a male, although he wouldn't rule anything out.

He said: "It's not impossible, but she has been described as a woman. This person is at enormous risk doing this."

The woman is described as having mousy brown hair cut in a bowl style with a spotty complexion. She was wearing glasses and a blue and white tracksuit.