'Suspicious incident' as 11-year-old girl walked to school (From The Westmorland Gazette)

'Suspicious incident' as 11-year-old girl walked to school

12:19pm Monday 22nd October 2012 in News

Police in Kirkby Stephen are appealing for two men to come forward after a 'suspicious incident' was reported on Friday morning.

Officers received reports that an 11-year-old girl was walking to school at around 8.20am in the vicinity of Westgarth Avenue when two men got out of a white van and approached her.

The girl couldn’t understand what the men were saying to her and ran off to school.

She informed her teacher about the incident who called the police. Officers are now trying to establish what happened.

Eden Inspector Mo Kelly said: "A little girl was on her way to school when two men walked towards her from a van. She was confused about what the men were saying and ran off to school.

"She mentioned the incident to teachers and, because the incident seemed strange, we were informed.

"We are now keen to establish what happened as there are rumours circulating that simply may not be true.

"At this stage, there is no suggestion that the men said anything untoward or made any attempt to touch the girl.

"We need to get to the bottom of what happened so that we can reassure the girl, her family and other parents – so we are keen for these men to come forward."

The van was described as a Ford Transit-type which was white in colour, dirty and with numerous dents, scratches and repairs over the rear doors.

The two men are described as not having Cumbrian accents, and were both white with short dark hair. They were about 5’9” tall and aged between 30 and 40.

The driver of the van was skinny while the other had a distinctive, small moustache and was described as slightly 'chubby'.

Both men wore dark grey zipped hoodies with a single white stripe down the sleeve over white t-shirts and black jeans or trousers. One of them wore white trainers with red soles while the other wore black trainers.

They had a 'dirty' appearance so may have been tradesmen.

Insp. Kelly added: “While we conduct our enquiries we are linking in with the school to offer reassurance and will keep them informed. Parents and teachers are always encouraged to reinforce safety messages such as stranger danger to their children and to report promptly any similar or other suspicious incidents."

Anyone with information should call Eden's policing team on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.