POLICE investigating an “obscene” series of letters sent to residents in Acomb say they have received numerous new leads in the last 24 hours.

Yesterday, The Press reported how over the past eight months, nine residents in Foxwood had received disturbing, sexually explicit letters referring to a 30-year-old woman.

They are all signed by someone calling themselves “John” and some have contained pubic hair, toenail clippings and tissues covered in excrement.

One of the letters was posted to a 75-year-old woman, an anxiety sufferer, who was said to be “terrified”, police said.

The Acomb woman who is mentioned in all of the letters said she is worried they may escalate, but said she was determined the author “was not going to win”.

Yesterday, police said they had conducted door-to-door investigations and had found one person who had received a letter and three who had letters stuck to their windows. Two further people have also contacted police and Crimestoppers wiith additional information.

PC Vicky Fickling, of the York Safer Neighbourhood Team, said: “Everything is going to be helpful, so any leads we get we will investigate. People need to know that even if they have a suspicion, we will look into all of them.”

Police are to deliver leaflets to every home in the area with a sample of the distinctive handwriting to appeal for more information Police are appealing to anyone who may have had a similar letter, who may recognise the writing or who may have useful information to phone PC Vicky Fickling or PCSO Richard Tempest on 0845 6060 247, quoting reference number 12110034086, or they can phone Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.