PARENTS have been urged to stop panicking after false rumours circulated of attempts to snatch children from the streets of Worcester.

West Mercia Police say none of the rumours are true and they have scared children unnecessarily.

The stories have spread quickly across social networking sites - including the Worcester News Facebook page here - and most commonly involve a man in a silver car.

By yesterday there were false rumours of attempted child abductions in the Nunnery Wood, Rainbow Hill and Blackpole areas of the city.

Several attempts have been made to quash the rumours on our Facebook page, by both our digital editor and West Mercia Police, but some parents continue to believe them.

The police say they have only ever received one report of a single incident near Dines Green School on Monday, January 16, of a man trying to grab a girl from the school as she walked home.

As reported by the Worcester News at the time, a man was arrested following the incident and remains on police bail while the incident is investigated.

Another false rumour circulating yesterday that a woman had been abducted from Worcester and raped, may have been sparked by an incident in Hereford earlier this week where a woman was subjected to a serious sexual assault after getting into a car she wrongly believed was a taxi. A man has since been arrested.

Inspector Janet Heritage, who is in charge of local policing in Worcester, said: “I can confirm that none of the rumours about alleged child abductions or rapes being circulated around Worcester are true.

“We had one genuine report near Dines Green School last month and on that occasion we let the public know the details as soon as we could, worked closely with the school to deal with any concerns from parents and put on extra patrols to reassure the community.

“Since then, we have not had a single confirmed report of any similar incidents.

“I am worried that parents – and children in particular – are becoming unnecessarily fearful because of these rumours.

“We are receiving reports of children experiencing suspicious behaviour; we investigate all calls of this nature, however we are finding that the circumstances are not as they may have feared, or are completely innocent.

“While it is important that children are educated about ‘stranger danger’ and should be wary of being approached by adults they don’t know, the current atmosphere in Worcester seems to be scaring local children unnecessarily and it needs to stop.

“Local policing officers will be contacting schools about the current rumours and we will be making sure this message is given to parents through official channels.

“If any parents continue to be worried about any rumours they hear, then I urge them to contact West Mercia Police.

“Get in touch with your local policing team, contact us via Twitter or Facebook or you can always phone us on 101.”

• Please note that comments left below this story which continue to push these rumours will be deleted. As we have said on Facebook we have a responsibility to the people of Worcester and we can't allow this matter to get any worse than it already is. Thank you.