'Strong leads' on pervert, police say

Sergeant Steve Watt says the man has been seen by residents and tourists performing an "indecent act" beside popular walking and running trails on Queenstown Hill.

Cops are warning of a serial masturbator in Queenstown.

Sergeant Steve Watt says the man has been seen by residents and tourists performing an
"indecent act" beside popular walking and running trails on Queenstown Hill and the Matakauri Wetland track by Gorge Road.

Watt says walkers and joggers should not go out alone, and asks them to report any sightings immediately.

The police have received four complaints about the man's behaviour in the past fortnight, with the most recent sighting on Monday.

There have been "plenty of witnesses" to the offending, he says, usually in the early afternoon.

"We have extremely strong leads and we're following up on those."

Although similar offending had occurred in the resort before, such incidents were "very, very few and far between", Watt says.

A Queenstown woman said in a social media post on Monday night she was walking on the track beside Gorge Rd about noon that day when she saw a "strange man" sitting on the track performing an indecent act.

"He saw me and carried on. I ran for the road."