A BRUTAL rapist is being hunted after a teenage girl was attacked and left abandoned on wasteground in Glasgow.

The 16-year-old was subjected to the terrifying ordeal after being separated from friends in the city's East End.

Detectives said the girl was walking along Corbett Street, Tollcross, around 10pm on Sunday when a man approached her, forced her onto nearby wasteland and raped her.

The terrified victim was found on the wasteland by friends, who helped her home and called the police.

The suspect is described as white, in his early 40s, with short fair hair. He was wearing a light-coloured T-shirt.

Detective Inspector Robbie Allan of Shettleston Police Office, who is leading the investigation, said: "Shortly before the incident, the girl had been walking with a group of her friends but she became separated from them.

"Officers are carrying out forensic examinations and door-to-door inquiries.

"I appeal to anyone who was in the Corbett Street area between 9.30pm and 10.30pm on Sunday and may have witnessed the incident, or anything suspicious, to contact police."

The attack comes just a month after an 18-year-old was raped while waiting for an early-morning bus to work in Cross Arthurlie Street at Barrhead, East Renfrewshire.

A man grabbed her and dragged her into a lane.

A 33-year-old man was arrested in connection with the incident and has appeared at Paisley Sheriff Court.

Anyone with any information about the latest incident should call Shettleston Police Office on 0141 532 4800 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, where anonymity can be maintained.