Police are investigating after a stranger reportedly tried to grab a young girl outside a shop.

It is believed the girl was approached by the man while waiting for friends in Stanhope Road, Ashford.

He is said to have began talking to her, and after she ignored him, tried grabbing her.

She ran into the nearby McColl's store, where an employee alerted the girl's mother.

A spokesman for McColl's said: "The girl came here and told us what happened. We knew who she was so rang her mum who came and got her.

"We tell all the local children around here to come into the shop if they ever need help."

Police have since carried out a search in the area.

A police spokesman said: "Kent Police was called at 12.24pm to a report of a man acting suspiciously in Stanhope Road, Ashford.

"Officers attended and carried out a search of the local area but were unable to locate him.

"Enquiries into the circumstances of the incident are ongoing."