PARENTS and children are being warned to be on their guard after a young girl was approached.

An 11-year-old girl was playing outside her house when a man driving past stopped to speak to her.

Her mum, who did want to be named, said: “He was a white, tanned man who was wearing a black hat.

“He asked my daughter her name, where she lived and where her parents were.

“The police have said it was probably innocent and he might of just been wondering why she was outside on her own.

“However, he used my neighbour’s driveway to turn around and then drove off, rather than just driving straight on.

“She was at our front door at the time and he pulled over outside the garden and called over to her.

“I am proud of her, she came straight indoors, then locked the door and told me and her dad straight away.

“She definitely won’t be going out the front again. She has been scared ever since.

“I won’t even let the girls go in the back garden without the dogs just to be on the safe side as we are surrounded by fields.”

The family reported the incident, which happened in Ashen Road, Ridgewell, near Halstead, on Friday to the police, who said they were investigating the “suspicious circumstances”.

An Essex Police spokesman said: “It was reported a man in a silver vehicle spoke to a child who was playing outside.

"No threats were made and the child ran away.”

This is not the first time police have received reports of children being approached by suspicious people in the area.

In October, youngsters from Ramsey Academy, Halstead, were walking back from school when they believed they saw a woman taking pictures of them.

In February, parents were warned after two men were seen taking photos of children in Halstead.

Last June, police launched an investigation after a 13-year-old girl thought she was being followed to Ramsey Academy by an unknown man.