GREENWICH Police say rumours of an attempted abduction in Plumstead Common Road are untrue and have moved to reassure parents.

Facebook and Twitter widely circulated a post that an Eastern European man tried to snatch a little girl who was walking with her mother down Plumstead Common Road on April 19.

But police say they can “categorically confirm” there was no attempted abduction and instead a man, who appeared to be drunk, tried to make conversation with the mother and child.

A Greenwich Police spokeswoman added there was nothing to suggest the man was Eastern European or planning to abduct the girl.

Detective Sergeant Michael Smith, in charge of CID, said; “We first became aware that a message on Facebook had been shared over 500 times on Saturday the 20th of April.

“Whilst Facebook and Twitter are a great way of spreading information, if the details being shared are incorrect, they can simply create alarm and worry parents unnecessarily.”

Police officers have been in touch with schools in the area to find out what information had been shared with parents and to, where appropriate, correct it.