POLICE have called for more help from the public as they continue to probe an incident in which a man is believed to have tried to abduct a Thurrock teenage girl.

Initial inquiries into the incident in Aveley last month led to the arrest of a man who has since been released under investigation.

Police have now repeated their appeal for information, saying: "We received a call shortly after 5.25pm on Wednesday, 24 November reporting a teenage girl had been grabbed by a man on Stifford Road around 15 minutes earlier.

"Thankfully, she was not injured.

"The man was described as wearing a dark coloured hoodie and blue jeans, and may have been travelling on a push bike prior to the incident.

"A 32-year old local man was arrested on Wednesday, 8 December in connection with the offence, on suspicion of kidnapping. He has since been released under investigation while our enquiries continue.

"If you have any information you can submit a report online via this link where you can use the 'Live Chat' button to speak to an online operator between 7am and 11pm. Please quote crime reference 42/272935/21.

"You can also call us on 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."