Stranger approached two girls (From Witney Gazette)

Stranger approached two girls

9:00am Wednesday 5th April 2006 in Witney By Maddy Biddulph

PARENTS are being urged to remind children about the 'stranger danger' rule after a man approached two young girls and asked if they wanted to make some money.

Police issued the warning after two separate incidents in West Oxfordshire on the same day, which they believe are linked.

In the first case, a man approached a 12-year-old girl at about 3.30pm on Thursday, March 30, as she was walking home in Barns Lane, Burford.

The man, who was walking from the High Street, asked her if she wanted to make some money, then made an offensive remark.

Luckily, a neighbour of the girl drove past and stopped to pick her up, and the man ran off down Swan Lane, towards the High Street.

In the second incident, a man approached a 12-year-old girl in Shilton Road, Carterton, and asked her if she wanted to make some cash.

When the girl declined, he ran off, and she returned home unharmed.

PC Becky Taylor, of Witney police station, said: "These are both worrying incidents, and I ask parents to reinforce the messages concerning the dangers of speaking with strangers.

"I would ask parents to check with their children to see if they have been approached in similar circumstances.

"Also, in the second incident, in Carterton, the man would have looked unusual, as it was raining, yet he was not wearing a coat."

The man is white, in his late-twenties to early-thirties, with brown eyes and short, cropped brown hair.

He had a flattened nose and square, clean shaven face, and spoke with no noticeable accent.

He was wearing a short-sleeved white T-shirt, light-blue jeans, and brown trainers.

PC Taylor stressed that neither of the children had been harmed, and said officers would be carrying out high-profile patrols in the area.

Anyone with information is asked to call the police enquiry centre, on 08458 505505, or Crimestoppers anonymously, on 0800 555 111.