I Think This Dead Horse Has Been Flogged Enough…

A mum reported a "suspicious incident" after a man approached her daughter in Poole's Primark yesterday, it has been revealed.

The concerned mum says her child was approached by a man while she was shopping at Primark in the Dolphin Centre on Wednesday afternoon around 3pm.

The mother reported the matter to security staff at the store and the police were called by Primark, she said.

Manhunt!

"I want a hard-target search of any Tesco, Blockbuster, Greggs, TopShop, M&S and Post Office in that area."

When asked by the Echo, Dorset Police, the Dolphin Centre and Primark all denied that the incident had taken place.

Eh..?

Our fearless reporter isn't going to leave it at that:

But the Echo tracked down the mum, from Canford Heath, who was shopping for shoes for her three-year-old when the incident happened.

She said: “She was sitting on the bench trying on shoes.

“I carried on looking for another pair of shoes for her. I looked up, there was a male in front of me. He approached her. I went up behind him, he went 'hello' to her. ”

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Wait. That's it? That's all?

She said the man, who was in his 30s and wearing a flat cap looked right and left and behind, then went off when he saw her.

“It was highly suspicious,” she said. However the man did not touch or attempt to grab her daughter, she said.

“It really shook me up,” she said. “I just feel it could have been worse. I have three children and this has never happened to me before.”

No-one's ever said 'Hello' to your child before?

I would say 'storm in a teacup', but of course, I reckon without social media:

The incident has spread around Facebook after a friend of the mum posted an update warning other parents to be careful.

Well, of course it has! No doubt growing in exaggeration as it does so. Chinese whispers upgraded for the technological age!

A spokesman for Primark said: “Primark takes customer safety very seriously and as such immediately reported the mother’s concerns to the police. On this occasion, having reviewed the CCTV the police did not take any further action.”

The Echo has asked police for an updated response and will post it as soon as we get it.

Unless of course it doesn't serve to keep the story going? Well, there's always another one somewhere to occupy the police & waste everybody's time...