SCHOOLS in Chiseldon and Wroughton have warned pupils to take extra care when walking home after a teenage girl has claimed she was followed as she got off the school bus.

A Facebook post was put online on Tuesday from the horrified mum of the girl who is a pupil at Ridgeway School.

Since then, hundreds of comments have been posted online and police are now appealing for witnesses to the incident.

It is believed that a blue Ford Fusion pulled up alongside the Ridgeway School pupil after she got off the bus outside Chiseldon Primary on Tuesday afternoon around 3.30pm to 3.45pm.

The male driving the car then either filmed or took a photo of the girl on his mobile phone whilst driving alongside her in the direction of the Esso garage.

He then drove off and stopped by Castleview Road where he got out of the car and stood by the nearby phonebox.

It is not believed he spoke to the girl.

PC Alex Mulley said: “I would like to hear from anyone who may have seen or heard anything suspicious in this area at this time.

“Perhaps you saw a blue Ford Fusion being driven suspiciously or a male hanging around the Castleview area?

“I want to reassure members of the public that we take reports like this very seriously and are carrying out further enquiries.”

PC Mulley added: “I would also like to remind parents and guardians to report anything like this to police immediately and although incidents like this are rare, it is important to remain vigilant and teach children not to talk to strangers.”

Both Ridgeway School and Chiseldon Primary have issued email and text alerts to parents in the days that have followed the incident to ask them to warn their children to be extra vigilant.

In an email sent by Ridgeway School, parents were told: “We have been advised that one of our students was followed by a car after she got off the school bus in Chiseldon on her way home.

“The incident was reported to the police and there is an ongoing police investigation.

“Student safety is our primary concern and if you or your children have any worries please contact the police and myself at the school.”

In a joint statement between Principal James Povoas and Dawn Blackler, Designated Safeguarding Lead, they said: "Our students are regularly spoken to in assemblies and mentoring about keeping safe and reporting suspicious activity, incidents or anything they are worried about.

"There are posters around school to inform students that they can report anything direct to staff or via the Whisper button on our website and computers in school. When an incident occurs the school informs parents and reinforces keeping safe to our students through assemblies and mentoring."

Chisledon Primary sent out a text to parents to explain an “incident” had occurred outside the school involving a secondary school pupil but did not send any further detail.

Anyone with information regarding the incident should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 1111.