A MAJOR police investigation has been launched following allegations of a serious sexual assault on a 17-year-old girl in a Bournemouth street.

Police officers were called to Strouden Avenue in the exclusive Queen’s Park area, near Bournemouth Crematorium, just before midnight on Wednesday.

A full-scale search operation ensued involving the Dorset Police helicopter and officers with sniffer dogs who searched gardens in the vicinity.

A 27-year-old man arrested in connection with the incident has this morning been released on police bail until the end of September.

Some neighbours along the road were woken by the helicopter in the early hours.

Student Jared Pasamar was watching a film when he heard the commotion at about 1am and looked out of the window to see an ambulance and police cars pulled up a few doors down.

“The helicopter was flying really low and seemed to be circling around this street,” he said. “I went back to my film but about half an hour later there were police looking around in our front garden so I went to ask what was going on.

“They said there had been a serious sexual assault against a 17-year-old and they were looking for evidence. There were police cars going up and down the road.”

Mr Pasamar, 17, said police asked him if he had heard a girl screaming in the night but he had heard nothing.

“I have lived here for 10 years and it is the first time I have seen anything like this,” he added.

A Dorset police spokeswoman described the incident as “a serious sexual assault” and added: “We were called at 11.47 pm and an investigation is ongoing.”