Pupils at Ferndown Upper School are being urged to be extra vigilant after an incident on Wednesday morning.

The school, which is attended by many Verwood children, sent a message to parents and carers with information about what happened.

The email said:

“This morning one of our pupils was approached whilst walking to school by a man driving a grey transit van near Appletree Grove in Ferndown approaching Ringwood Road.

“He attempted to entice the child into his van, the child ran off and remained safe – the man has been described as white, 30 – 40, very dark hair and has a beard.”

We urge everyone to be aware of the incident and encourage their children to keep extra safe whilst going to and from school.