AN INCIDENT in which a teenager claimed to have been grabbed around the waist by a man in a van did not take place, police have confirmed.

Officers previously issued a statement on Tuesday regarding a “suspicious incident” in Holders Road, Amesbury. A man driving a van was said to have grabbed a 14-year-old boy and tried to get him inside his vehicle.

However, a post on the Amesbury Police Facebook page has since confirmed that after CCTV and house-to-house enquires, plus extensive interviews, that the incident did not take place.

Information about a vehicle claimed to be involved in the incident had been shared extensively on Facebook. But police say they were able to “quickly eliminate this vehicle and its owner from our enquiries.”

The child involved in the incident has been formally interviewed and given words of advice.

Detective constable Mike Boshier said: “Reports of this nature, understandably, cause concern within our communities and I’d like to thank the public for their patience while we conducted our investigation, which has now been closed.

“We will always take reports like this seriously and I hope this incident does not deter children and young people from reporting suspicious activity when they experience it within our community.”

A similar incident was reported to have taken place near Stonehenge School, on the same road, on Saturday evening.

Two girls were targeted by a man in vehicle who reached out and touched one of the girls’ hair.

Police say enquiries into the Saturday incident are ongoing.