Report any incident to police, rather than take to social media

Police are asking parents to be on guard after reports of suspicious behaviour towards children in the the past 10 days.

The incidents happened in Woburn Sands, Leighton Buzzard and Biggleswade.

Although police aren't giving further details, it follows a report (see here) in our sister title Bedford Today that a man tried to lure a child out of their house in a village near Bedford

Bedfordshire Police stated: "These are uncertain times for all of us and, with children back at school, we understand any concerns regarding safety will be paramount.

"It is only natural that parents will be worried and will want to share messaging around potential risks to their children.

"We understand that these incidents can be extremely concerning for our communities. We want to reassure you that while no children were harmed, we take reports of any potential risk to children seriously and we are working to establish the circumstances, and our community teams have increased their visibility around local schools."

However, police were concerned about speculation and urged parents to report any suspicious activity to them, rather than take to social media.

A spokesman added: "We are also aware that there is a lot of rumour and speculation on social media, with additional incidents being discussed that haven’t been reported to the police.

"We urge you all to help us in keeping children safe by reporting any suspicious activity or concerning behaviour to us as soon as possible and only to share official information. This allows us to investigate early on, and to build an intelligence picture around any emerging issues so we can take appropriate action."

If an incident is in progress, call 999. If the incident has already happened, report it online here.