POLICE in Skipton are asking for witnesses
and information following an alleged incident involving an 11 year old girl and
an unknown man.
It happened at around 3.30pm yesterday (Tuesday) when the girl was walking
home from school through Skipton.
The girl, who was with a
friend, went to put some rubbish in the bin nearest to the Cock and Bottle pub
on Swadford Street - opposite Sports Direct - when an unknown man allegedly
approached her, smiled, said "hi", passed her a piece of paper with a
number written on and added: "phone me".
The man then crossed the
road and left the girl with her friend.
The girl immediately walked
to the home of a family member and informed him what had happened.
The man is described as
black, aged in his 30s, clean shaven, approximately 5ft10 tall, of slim build
with dark short afro hair. He was wearing dark clothing and a backpack.
Officers are treating the
incident as suspicious and are conducting inquiries to establish the exact
nature of the incident.
Police say such incidents
are rare, but parents are being advised to reiterate stranger danger advice to
their children:
Never go anywhere with a
stranger, never take things from a stranger, never get in a car with a
stranger, and never go off on own.
Police are asking for
anyone who may have witnessed the incident, or who saw a man of the above
description in the area at the time, to get in touch.
Anyone with any information
is asked to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101 and pass information to the
Force Control Room, or anonymously, to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Quote
reference 12180109296 when passing on information.
