POLICE in Calne are warning of the dangers of hoax calls after receiving a report of a girl being grabbed by a male wearing a balaclava.

Worried parents who contacted Calne Police asking if a child had been snatched in Calne over the weekend have been reassured no such incident took place.

A 999 call made on Saturday (Aug22) afternoon around 1.40pm reported a little girl being chased and then grabbed by male in the Foreman Street area of Calne.

The person making the emergency call then advised officers that the male had placed the distressed child into a vehicle and left the location at speed.

Several officers from Calne and Chippenham quickly attended the location to search for the male and vehicle used while another officer attended the home address of the caller to gather further information.

It was later established that the call had been a hoax made by two girls.

A police spokesman said: "The 999 call had been made by two young girls who thought at the time it would be funny to call the police and report something of this nature.

"It goes without saying that this was an incredibly irresponsible thing to do, and a great deal of police resources were used to respond and investigate this report."

The girls involved were reprimanded in regards to their involvement.

Local police regularly work with primary schools in Calne to educate children on the dangers of strangers and keeping safe and this work will continue when term restarts in September.