A man has been arrested after a teenage girl was raped at knifepoint by a man pretending to be a police officer.

The girl was walking along Sandhurst Road, Ponders End, at around 5.30pm on Wednesday January 27, when a man riding a bike approached her.

He said he was a member of the police and needed to search her, as she fitted the description of a shoplifter.

While he carried out the search, he raped her and threatened her with a knife.

Police are linking this attack with another incident that happened earlier in the same day.

A 12-year-old girl was approached by a man on a bike along Shirley Grove, Ponders End, at approximately 4.30pm.

He told her he was a police officer and that she fitted the description of a girl he needed to arrest.

He told her to go with him to a van but she refused.

He then grabbed her by the wrists but eventually let go and she managed to run away from him.

A man, 32, was arrested earlier today and is in custody at a north London police station.

Tracey Cormack, detective inspector at the Met's Sexual Offences Exploitation and Child Abuse Command, said: "We are appealing for anyone who may have witnessed these offences or think they may have been approached by this man to come forward and report this to the police."

Anyone with information should call the incident room number on 020 8217 7428 or via 101.