Police have said that the would like to re-assure the public that the incident of attempted abduction in St Andrews road Harrogate is not as first reported.
Police received a report at 6pm on Monday 11 May that two men in a van had approached three young girls on St Andrews Road in Harrogate.
A police spokesman said: Following extensive enquiries into the report, I can confirm that this incident did not occur. Officers have worked closely with the children and their families to establish the facts surrounding this report and have advised one of the children in regards to the need for any issue to be reported accurately, explaining the significant concern such claims can cause amongst the community.
When reports such as this do emerge, the police have seen great advantages in the use of social media networks, but we also know that there is a risk of misleading information being recirculated and causing concern within our communities. Whilst we would not want to discourage the use of social media we would always encourage responsible use.
We do, however, entirely understand the alarm this has caused and I hope the public can now feel re-assured.
