POLICE have increased patrols around schools in Redditch following two suspicious incidents.

On Wednesday, September 10 at 9.05am a 15-year-old pupil from a local school was approached by a man on the footpath between Enfield Road and Stonepits Lane, who followed her and made conversation.

She described the man as white, around 5ft10ins and in his mid 30s with short blond hair.

He was wearing a light blue jacket with a white lining and grey tracksuit bottoms.

A second incident occurred on Thursday, September 11 at about 4.15pm, when a 14-year-old pupil was approached by a man on Grangers Lane.

The man came out of nearby bushes, made conversation with the girl and then left in the direction of the underpass.

He was described as a white man, late 30s to early 40s, 5ft10ins, with fair thinning hair and a dishevelled appearance.

He was also described as having a thin face with protruding cheek bones.

At the time of the incident he was wearing a camouflage zip up jacket and blue denim style jeans.

Sergeant Jane Gilkes said: “We are treating both of these incidents very seriously and have increased patrols in the area.

"However, we would like to reassure parents and the public that neither of the pupils were touched in any way.

"There is no suggestion that the suspect was making any attempt to abduct or cause any harm to the pupils.

“We will be working closely with local schools, to ensure pupils are kept safe on their way to and from school, and will be continuing with our enquires to identify the suspect.

"We believe the two incidents may be linked and we are urging anyone who may know someone meeting the description, or anyone who has any information, to contact police on 101 quoting incident number 218 of 10th September.”