Young girl approached by unknown man in Newport

The girl – aged 12 – was walking alone in Vineyard Road when the incident happened at around 5pm on Saturday.

A man pulled up alongside the girl in his car and slowly followed her. He opened his window and asked the girl if she wanted a ride. The girl replied that she didn’t and the man told her in a threatening manner to get into the vehicle. The girl told the man “no” again and continued walking.

A woman who knew the girl spotted her and asked her if she was ok and what the man wanted. The girl told the woman what had happened and she drove her to a friend’s home and the 12 year-old girl’s family were alerted.

The man drove off.

The offending vehicle is described as a red sports car with a black roof. The man is described as white with grey hair and aged in his 50’s. He was wearing black sunglasses and a dark coloured top. There was nobody else in the vehicle.

Police are treating the incident extremely seriously and are appealing to anyone with information to come forward.

A Telford Police spokeswoman said: “This is an extremely worrying incident and Police are doing everything possible to locate the vehicle and the male driver.

“A number of enquiries have been carried out including checking CCTV, house to house enquiries and carrying out a number of vehicle checks.

“Enquiries are continuing and as part of these enquiries we would like to hear from anyone in the Newport area who saw the red vehicle driving around the area on Saturday afternoon and evening.

“If you saw the vehicle in the Newport area, then please come and speak to us at the earliest opportunity, by calling us on 0300 333 3000.

“Incidents of this nature are extremely rare but we would urge parents and young people to be vigilant.

“Parents need to talk to their children about how they should keep themselves safe and what to do if in the event they are approached by somebody they don’t know.

“Information about personal safety can be found on our website www.westmercia.pnn.police.uk “