People in Pocklington are advised to be vigilant

Humberside Police are looking to provide reassurance to the people of Pocklington and surrounding villages following recent speculation on social networking sites and within the local community about incidents of suspicious activity in the area.

Police are investigating two reports of a male allegedly travelling in a silver or grey coloured hatch back type car who has been seen acting suspiciously in Market Weighton. The incident was reported to police on Wednesday 10th April, however it is thought to have happened 10 days before. Another call was made to police about possibly the same vehicle being seen in Wilberfoss around Tuesday 30th April. Suspicions were raised that the young male occupant(s) of the vehicle were alleged to have been approaching teenage girls, however no approaches were made on either occasion.

To help provide reassurance following these incidents police patrols are being vigilant and are checking the area of local schools.

In a second unrelated incident, a white van was seen in Pocklington and reported to the police as a suspicious incident, as it involved people handing out colouring books and pencil crayons to young children. Enquiries reveal that this was actually an initiative being undertaken by East Riding of Yorkshire Council under their Sports Play scheme.

As part of these investigations police have been made aware of speculation, rumour and misinformation currently circulating on social media sites in relation to these incidents which is causing concern and resulting in a number of calls to the police that, when investigated, have no substance in fact.

Such speculation can hinder a police investigation so it is asked that whilst remaining vigilant, parents do ensure that their children are properly advised and ensure that rumour and misinformation is not taken as fact and circulated to the detriment of work being undertaken by the police currently.

Equally, we ask that any genuine concerns relating to incidents or suspicious activity that they or their children may have witnessed be reported to Humberside Police on 101 and not be simply circulated via social media.