A young girl was approached by two men in a village near Ashwell at the weekend, who asked her to get in their car.

Police were called shortly before 4pm on Saturday to a report of the incident, which happened in a residential street in Newnham.

A force spokeswoman said: “It was reported that the girl was approached by the men in a BMW who asked her to get into the car. The girl refused and went to a neighbour’s house and the men drove off. They did not attempt to follow her or speak further.”

Officers attended and conducted a search of the area, but the vehicle was not located.

Local Safer Neighbourhood Team officers have been made aware and work is on-going to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Neighbourhood inspector Richard Lilley said: “I understand this will cause concern to parents. At this stage we have not received any further reports of similar incidents occurring in the area.

“If you do witness anything similar, please report it to police straightaway making a note of any registration numbers and descriptions of people in the vehicle.”

This paper understands that some schools in the Ashwell and Baldock areas have contacted parents today to advise them to be vigilant in the wake of the incident.

Anyone with information should call Herts police on 101.