A young girl’s handbag was almost snatched in an attempted robbery at Fairlands Valley Park this afternoon, with the suspect still at large.

Police were called to the Millennium Woods area of the park at around 12.57pm today, after reports of a girl being approached by a man who attempted to grab her bag.

A search of the area took place immediately, however the suspect remains outstanding.

The man is described as tall, of medium build and wearing a black medical–style mask, black gloves, a dark hooded top with his hood up. His clothing was described as a short sleeve gilet with a dark long sleeve sports top underneath.

DC Kirsty Richardson from the Local Crime Unit in Stevenage said: “This was a very distressing incident for the young girl, who was approached whilst walking her dog in a wooded area of the park situated between Six Hills Way and Broadhall Way.

“We are currently treating this as an attempted robbery and would like to hear from anyone who was in the area at the time and saw a man matching the description.

“I’d also like to ask any residents with CCTV or doorbell footage to please review this and contact us if the man described has been captured on it.

“We know an incident of this nature is likely to cause concern among the community, but please be assured we are carrying out extensive enquiries to identify the offender.”

DC Kirsty Richardson can be contacted directly via email at Kirsty.richardson2@herts.pnn.police.uk.

You can report information online at herts.police.uk/report, speak to an operator in the police’s force communications room via online web chat at herts.police.uk/contact or call the non-emergency number 101, quoting incident number 345 of 26 May.

Alternatively you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or report information online at crimestoppers-uk.org.