DETECTIVES investigating the "despicable" sexual assault of an 11-year-old boy have appealed for help in tracing a man and woman who forced him into bushes before attacking him.

The boy was walking along Moss Lane, Whitefield, on Saturday April 9 when a silver Vauxhall Omega pulled up alongside him. A man and woman then got out of the car and grabbed the boy, taking him into nearby bushes at the side of Rileys Snooker Club, where they sexually assaulted him.

Det Insp Simon Collier said: "The 11-year-old boy is extremely traumatised from what he has been through and it is vital we catch the people who have done this to him."

The car is described as being in poor condition, with scratches along the left wing.