Key Points

• Officers are appealing for a woman to come forward after she warned a family about a man exposing himself in woodland in Roundhay, Leeds.
• The incident was reported at 7.13pm on Sunday 21 June, after a man said he had been stopped by a distressed woman near Wykebeck & Asket Hill Woods.
• The woman told him not to go into the woods with his wife and child because of a man exposing himself.
• Police want the woman to contact them to help with ongoing enquiries.
• Officers also want to hear from anyone else who may have seen the man in the woods or nearby.
• The man was described in a third-hand report as white, around 40 years old, slim, wearing grey jogging bottoms and no top.
• He is understood to have been riding an electric bike with large wheels and wearing a black helmet.

Roundhay (The Leeds Times) July 9, 2026 – Officers in Leeds are appealing for a woman to come forward after she warned a family not to enter woodland in the Roundhay area because of a man allegedly exposing himself, with police now seeking more information as enquiries continue.

What happened in Wykebeck & Asket Hill Woods?

According to police, the report was received at 7.13pm on Sunday 21 June from a man who said he had been stopped by a distressed woman near Wykebeck & Asket Hill Woods.

She told him not to go into the woods with his wife and child because a man inside the woodland was exposing himself.

The woman has not yet been identified, and officers say her account could help establish the full circumstances of the incident.

As reported by the police statement, the appeal centres on finding this woman so investigators can speak with her directly.

Police are treating her as a key witness because she alerted the family before they entered the woods. No injuries have been reported in the information provided, and the focus of the enquiry is on identifying the man and any other witnesses.

Why are police appealing now?

The appeal has been issued because officers say the woman may hold important evidence about what she saw and where she encountered the man. In cases like this, witness accounts can help police piece together a timeline, identify routes taken, and confirm descriptions of a suspect. The force is also asking anyone else who may have seen the man in the woods or nearby to get in touch.

The police statement makes clear that the enquiry remains ongoing. That means officers are still trying to establish who the man was, whether there were any further witnesses, and whether there is any additional information from people in the area that could assist the investigation.

What was the man described as?

In the third-hand report, the man was described as white, around 40 years old and of slim build. He was said to be wearing grey jogging bottoms and no top. Police also understand that he was riding an electric bike with large wheels and wearing a black helmet.

That description has been circulated so members of the public who were in the area may recognise the person or recall seeing someone matching it.

Police have not said in the statement provided whether they have made any arrests or identified a suspect.

The appeal is therefore focused on gathering information from the public rather than announcing any formal outcome.

What should witnesses do?

Officers want the woman who stopped the family to contact them directly. They also want anyone else who believes they saw the man in the woods or nearby to come forward with any relevant details.

That may include the time they saw him, the direction he was travelling, or whether they noticed the electric bike described by police.

Witnesses can also help by providing any details that may seem small but could support the wider enquiry. In public order or indecent exposure reports, such details can be significant when police are trying to verify movement patterns and identify individuals. The appeal suggests officers are still building their evidence base.

How is the area affected?

Wykebeck & Asket Hill Woods is a well-used green space in the Roundhay area, and incidents of this kind can cause concern for local residents, families and people walking nearby.

An appeal of this sort is usually intended to reassure the public that police are gathering information while asking the community to assist with the investigation.

It also helps put witnesses on notice that they may have seen something important even if they did not realise it at the time.

For people using the woods, the key message is that police are actively seeking information and are particularly interested in speaking with the woman who intervened.

The statement does not include any warning of a wider risk, but it does show that officers are treating the report seriously enough to issue a public appeal.

Background to the development

This case stems from a report made on the evening of Sunday 21 June after a passer-by said he had been warned by a distressed woman about a man exposing himself in woodland.

The police description of the man was based on a third-hand report, which means officers are still trying to establish the original account directly from those involved.

The woman’s statement could be important because she appears to have seen the incident first-hand or close to first-hand.

Appeals like this are common when police need to identify witnesses who left the scene before officers arrived.

They are also used when descriptions are limited and investigators need more precise information before they can move the enquiry forward.

In this case, the woman’s intervention may have prevented a family from entering the woodland at the time, but officers are now trying to make contact so they can gather her account formally.

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Prediction for local residents

For families and regular users of the woods, the most likely immediate effect is increased caution while the investigation continues. People may become more attentive to their surroundings and more likely to report suspicious behaviour if they are in the area.

The appeal may also encourage anyone who was walking, cycling or passing through Roundhay at the time to check their memory and contact police if they noticed a man matching the description.

For the wider community, the development is likely to prompt renewed discussion about personal safety in local green spaces and the importance of reporting incidents quickly.

If more witnesses come forward, the enquiry could progress more quickly and provide a clearer account of what happened. If no further information emerges, the case may remain reliant on the original witness and any public sightings that can be verified.