POLICE have issued a warning after a man tried to lure young girls into his car on four separate occasions.

They fear the man is developing a pattern and are telling people in the area to be vigilent.

The victims have told of their terror. During one incident the man was wearing a balaclava in his car.

He has also been spotted behaving suspiciously towards youngsters when another man has been in the vehicle.

Police said the victims, all aged between 10 and 13, were approached by the man in Rishton and Great Harwood.

The man, who in his 30s or 40s, was either driving a small dark car or walking a skinny black dog when he approached the girls.

Officers said concerned parents who had contacted them said he had ‘beckoned’ to their daughters, who feared they might be abducted.

All police patrols in the area have now been put on notice to look out for a man ‘attempting to entice’ young girls into his car.

They have been told to stop any suspicious vehicles and take the motorists’s details.

Police said the first incident happened last month when two girls, aged 10 and 13, told police they felt intimidated by a man walking a skinny black dog close to a corner shop in Eachill Road, Rishton.

He was staring at them and when they walked the long way home to avoid him, they saw him again.

The man, described as white and around 6ft tall, did not speak to the girls during the incident at 8.30pm on January 16.

He was wearing a black hat with a green and grey coat.

The next day another young girl contacted police saying she had seen a man aged around 30-years-old driving around Rishton with a dog ‘trying to get young girls into his car’.

On February 8, an 11-year-old girl walking across a pelican crossing in Queen Street, Great Harwood, was called over by two men in a small black car.

She did not interact with them but was so concerned she told her parents who reported the incident to police.

A similar incident in the same week was also reported, when a 12-year-old girl was walking along the same part of Queen Street, close to the betting shop.

A man, described as ‘stocky’ and wearing a black jacket and balaclava, driving a dark blue car, stopped at the crossing and called her over. She ran off instinctively, police said.

DI Claire Holbrook said: “Although unnerving for people who live in the area, no offences have taken place.

“I would urge all members of the public not to be alarmed but to be vigilant and to report any suspicious activity to police, calling 999 in an emergency.

“I would like to reassure parents and all members of the public that any reports of this nature are taken very seriously and acted upon.”

Anyone with any information should contact police on 0845 125 3545 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.