Police in Blacon have moved to reassure residents following reports of 'suspicious activity'.

Officers have recently received a number of reports involving children encountering white vans and men acting suspiciously in the area.

Investigations are taking place however the force have urged people not to speculate on social media.

Chief Inspector Paul Fegan, of Chester Local Policing Unit, said: "We have increased patrols in the area to provide reassurance to members of the public and are investigating every report made to us.

"The safety of members of the public is of paramount importance to us so please be assured that we are conducting a number of enquiries to establish the full circumstances of each report and provide advice and support.

"We have been able to establish most of the incidents have not been as perceived, and we would like to remind people to avoid sharing speculation on social media which fuels misinformation."

At this stage, police say there is no suggestion any of these incidents are linked and currently, no offences have been committed.

Most of the reported vehicles have been in the area for legitimate reasons, a number being delivery drivers trying to find addresses and have waved at residents, which has been misconstrued.

For example, one incident included a neighbour of a child speaking to them through the fence of a primary school as they were passing by, but this was misunderstood and initially reported as suspicious behaviour, which was not the case.

However, police say they will continue to investigate incidents and are following all lines of enquiry.

Chief Inspector Fegan added: "If you do have any concerns or spot anything suspicious, including on CCTV, video doorbell or dashcam, please refrain from posting on social media and contact police immediately in the first instance.

"Do not hesitate to report any suspicious activity – the sooner you report it, the sooner we can assist.

"Please call 101 or report information at https://www.cheshire.police.uk/ro/report/ . In an emergency always call 999."