Praise for schoolgirl after men try to force her into a car

Ed Senior, principal of Worcester Sixth Form College, sent a letter out to parents revealing more details of what happened when two men tried to get the 16-year-old in the car on Friday (January 6).

In the letter, it  states the student was first approached by the men in the car on Hillery Road at around 3.15pm and then followed around to Prestwich Avenue, near Nunnery Wood Primary School.

The men asked the pupil to get in their car and continued to follow her when she refused.

One of the men then got out of the car and followed her down the road, shouting at her.

Both of the men then tried to force her into the vehicle.

Fortunately, the pupil was able to run away and her call her dad.

A West Mercia Police spokesperson said: “We’re carrying out enquiries to establish the circumstances of the incident.”

Mr Senior has urged parents and pupils to be vigilant following the incident as well as applauded the student for the way she handled the situation.

“I am relieved that the student is safe and well and proud that she responded in a way that kept herself safe,” he said.

“She demonstrated courage in reporting the incident to the police so that they could take appropriate action.

“Both I and the student's Head of Year have met with her to discuss any support needs and I am pleased she continues to be focused on her studies.”

READ MORE: Students urged to be 'vigilant' after strangers try to force female in car

Ed Senior, principal of Worcester Sixth Form College, has praised the pupil for her actions (Image: Worcester Sixth Form College)

West Mercia Police is now investigating the incident and has urged anyone with information to come forward.

Inspector Tanya Beckett, from Worcester Safer Neighbourhood Team, said: “We treat reports of this nature very seriously and we’re working to understand the circumstances of this incident.

“We’d like to hear from anyone who saw the incident or captured it on dash-cam.

“If you have any information that could help please report this online under the Tell Us About section of the West Mercia Police website quoting reference 449 of January 4.”

Mr Senior explained he has been in contact with other schools about this incident and staff at Worcester Sixth Form College have reminded pupils of safety measures.

He said: “If we are made aware of any such incidents locally, we inform students and parents so that they can be vigilant.

“Whilst we had already shared advice on how to stay safe as part of our tutorial programme, we reminded students about safety measures such as installing the HollieGuard app on their mobile phones.

“We shared details of the incident with local high schools so that they in turn could choose to send out a message to their pupils.”