Appeal following report of girl being approached by man in a van

Officers are appealing for information to help assist enquiries following a report of a young girl being approached by a man in a van in Charnwood Road, Ratby.

A report was received that a man in a small white van had stopped his vehicle and spoken with an 11-year-old girl as she was walking in the area at around 12.45pm yesterday (Sunday).

The girl did not engage with the man and safely left the area. She was not injured or harmed.

The man was then reported to have turned the van around and driven towards the area of Markfield Lane, Ratby.

Enquiries have been ongoing into the report and officers are working to establish the full circumstances of the incident.

They are appealing for the driver of the van to make contact with police to assist with enquiries as well as anyone who may have any information which could help.

Detective Constable Julie Watkins said: “We are carrying out full enquiries into this report and are working to clarify the full circumstances as to what has happened.

“Anyone with any information is asked to make contact with us. If you have any CCTV or dashcam footage from the area at the time, then please check this and get in touch with us.

“If you believe you were the driver of the van, please also make contact with us so we can establish the full details regarding the report which has been made to us.

“We encourage all parents, carers and teachers to continually speak with children to ensure they know what to do if approached by a stranger and our officers continue to work with schools and organisations to ensure the safety of children in our communities and to provide crime prevention and safety advice.”

Anyone with any information should contact 101 quoting incident 21*255170. You can also report online at www.leics.police.uk

 

Advice which can be provided to a child about what to do when approached by a stranger can include:

• If approached by a stranger, do not speak to them. Instead run and tell a trusted adult. This could be at home, a family member’s address or a teacher
• Don’t accept anything offered to you by a stranger such as sweets
• Don’t accept a lift from a person you do not know – even if they say they are a friend of your parents or a relative
• Avoid areas you don’t know and always ensure you take a safe route home using busy and well-lit areas