A pervert in Penryn followed a girl in a car while committing a lewd act earlier this week, leading police to issue a public warning.

This morning police issued a statement on Twitter about reports of a male in a small silver car "acting inappropriately near the university."

A post on student forum Penryn Fitfinder, which appeared earlier in the week, spoke about one student who saw a man masturbating while she was walking home one evening.

The poster wrote: "A warning to girls out there, my friend was walking home around 10.45pm when a young guy, possibly early 20s with a ginger beard, drove next to her... and started w***ing himself off.

"When she got away, he turned around and continued to follow her."

Other Penryn residents, chatting on Facebook, reported that similar incidents had occurred on Thursday morning with a man in a silver car "following young girls."

One person posted: "Oh god not this again," and added that a similar thing had happened to her friend recently.

A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police said they had no logs relating to this incident, but it is understood that local officers are currently knocking on doors in the area to make enquiries.

If members of the public saw this or a similar incident, they are asked to call police immediately on 101.