School Children Approached by Man in Car

Police say the cases could be linked after 3 lots of school children were spoken to by a man in a car in January on three separate occasions.

The first reported incident took place on 13 January in Joydens Wood where a 10-year-old girl was approached by a man in a car as she walked to school. She was unharmed and reported the incident to teachers as soon as she arrived.

On 22 January, an 11-year-old boy was stopped by a man in a car as he walked home from school in Northfleet. Again he was not harmed in any way and he ran off and reported the incident to police.

In the latest incident, reported on 30 January, a group of three girls and one boy aged between eight and ten were approached by a man in a car at around lunchtime in Dartford.

The driver, who is described as being white and in his 30s in each case, drove off without causing any harm.

Kent Police is conducting a wide-ranging investigation to see if there any links to any other reported incidents.

Detective Inspector Chris Collier, who is leading the investigation, said: “At the moment we believe these three incidents may be linked and we would urge anyone with information to get in touch.

“It is also possible that there have been other incidents which we are not aware of – again I would ask that these people contact police.

“We have approached all schools in North Kent to ask that they raise pupils’ awareness of the stranger danger message and our neighbourhood officers will be out and about visibly policing their communities, particularly around schools.”

If anyone has any information which may help police with their inquiries, contact Det Insp Collier on 01474 366098 or Kent Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111.