Published: Thursday, 18th March, 2010 7:05am

OAP targeted by teen flasher

by Kirsty Gibbins

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POLICE are on the hunt for a teenage flasher who woke an elderly Tranent woman from her bed in the middle of the night to expose himself to her - in the same street where residents claim they are being targeted by a 'phantom' door knocker.

A 75-year-old Harkness Crescent resident was woken from her bed at 12.45am on Sunday when the culprit rang her doorbell. When she opened her front door the suspect exposed himself and the victim, whilst unhurt, was left extremely upset and shaken by the experience.

The youth is described as white, 15-16 years of age, 5"6 - 5"8, well built, with short blonde hair and a round face.

A Lothian and Borders Police spokeswoman said: "Police are appealing for any information which can speed the detention and arrest of the suspect. Whilst the woman was uninjured, she has been left extremely shaken by the ordeal.

"We are treating this incident extremely seriously and are eager to identify and locate the male responsible.

"Anyone who was in the vicinity of Harkness Crescent at the time, or who recognises the description provided of the male and can assist with enquiries, is requested to contact police immediately."

Fa'side councillor Donald Grant said: "It's totally unacceptable that elderly ladies are being woken from their beds and treated in this manner and I hope the perpetrator is caught soon."

The incident occurred in the same street where elderly residents claim they've been harassed for three years by an unknown person or persons knocking their front doors and ringing door bells late at night, then running off.

East Lothian Council officials and local police have carried out a number of measures, including additional police patrols, visits by council housing officials, the installation of noise monitoring equipment and community alarms in residents' homes and overnight stays at the properties affected, in a bid to catch the nuisance caller, with no success.

Last October, residents put forward a petition to East Lothian Council's petitions committee, containing 14 signatures, calling on the local authority to install a permanent CCTV camera to monitor the street. Though the bid was unsuccessful, CCTV surveillance was fixed on Harkness Crescent for a number of weeks following the meeting, yet failed to capture the mystery door knocker.

It's understood that the victim of Sunday's indecent exposure was one of three residents who have repeatedly complained to police and the local authority - though there is no evidence to suggest that the flasher is responsible for the previous harassment of residents.

An East Lothian Council spokeswoman said: "We have held a number of further meetings with residents and police since the petition meeting and a range of security measures have been suggested that could be put in place.

"We're expecting a final meeting to take place in the next couple of weeks to confirm what security measures would be best in these circumstances."