PUPILS at a junior school have been warned to be vigilant after a man exposed himself to two girls.

Parents warned others to keep their children safe after the man approached the group in Hawthorn Avenue, Colchester, at about 4pm on Wednesday.

The man, believed to be in his 50s and wearing yellow high-vis trousers and a grey jumper, was seen “playing with himself”.

Parents said he started walking towards the girls but they managed to get home safely and the police were called.

The mother of the girls said: “My daughter texted me to tell me she was going to pick her stepsister up from down the road.

“I’d picked my son up from football and got home before the girls.

“At about 4.30pm my daughter and her sister knocked on the door in shock and upset that they’d just seen a man touching himself inappropriately.

“I dropped everything and ran across the road where they said this had happened. I couldn’t see the man.

“I got back and called 101 and gave all the details to the police.”

She said luckily both of the girls were unharmed.

She added: “The image won’t stay with them for long. I’m still waiting for the police to get back to me about what has been done or if the person has been found.

“There definitely needs to be more done. I see children my son’s age, who is seven, still playing out when it’s dark and late.

“I also think there needs to be a bigger police presence around school opening hours and when the school finishes.”

Hazelmere Junior School confirmed a parent had made staff aware and a ‘stranger danger’ message was sent to families via the school’s smartphone app.

It comes a couple of days after a stranger tried to snatch an 11-year-old boy on his way to Old Heath Primary School.

Police say a man wearing a black jacket and carrying an orange rucksack grabbed the boy’s arm and asked where he was going.

As the boy pulled away, the incident was spotted by a nearby parent who approached the man and the shaken boy.

Days before this, a a ten-year-old boy was approached on his way to Stanway Fiveways Primary School.

Over the past few days schools have been issuing warnings to parents about making sure their children walk in groups and report any suspicious behaviour.

The Gazette contacted Essex Police but no-one was able to provide a response before publication.