"Two or three men gathered behind me and attempted to make themselves the centre of my attention," she said. "I was focusing on the broadcast, and then I felt a kiss on my neck.

"Almost immediately, a young German sings in my ear: 'Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir? [would you like to sleep with me tonight?]'. Then, I feel two hands rest on my shoulders. I see the person behind me mime an obscene gesture, a sexual practice that has no place on camera."

As Labye tried to ignore the men, remaining in front of the camera as the presenter in the studio thanked her for the report, one of the group grabbed her. "It was at that moment that one of three men around me touched my chest. At that moment, I lost my temper. Knowing I had finished the broadcast, I turned around to tell them in English 'do not touch me!'. The three didn't seem to understand why I got angry, but they left without a word."

Police in the west German city said on Saturday they had received more than twice the usual number of criminal complaints over sexual assaults during the first day of this year's street carnival.