POLICE are warning parents to be extra vigilant after two failed abduction attempts on young girls in Lancashire.

On Saturday a nine-year-old girl was left terrified after a masked man tried to grab her while playing with friends near Radfield Avenue, Darwen. She escaped after a passer-by chased the man away.

On Monday a man grabbed an eight-year-old girl who was walking her dog behind Knowle Meadow, Ramsbottom, at 8.30pm. She managed to escape after slapping him.

A man was arrested yesterday in connection with the Darwen incident. He was released on bail for two weeks and police are continuing their inquiries.

Detectives in Darwen today said that they could not yet judge whether the two incidents could be linked, but advised parents to be calm and children extra careful. The girl from Ramsbottom was today being interviewed and the detectives said they would then know whether the cases could be linked. DS Ian Critchley said: "We are not linking them together at this moment. We will be liaising with Greater Manchester Police.

"Again we would advise parents to be careful when letting their children play out in groups."

The eight-year-old girl was walking her dog through Knowle Meadow, a wooded area. A man was standing in some trees watching.

She didn't like the look of him and turned to walk in the opposite direction, but he began to follow her, so she started running.

The man started running, caught up with the girl and grabbed her t-shirt. She managed to free herself by slapping the man and running toward her home.

The girl gave police a description of the man, but detectives say because it is an eight-year-old's they don't know how reliable it is.

He was said to be a white male, aged between 40 and 50 with short dark hair, wearing scruffy jeans, brown shoes, a black waist length coat, and a black hat with white stripes.

Police are to interview the girl

Spokesman for Greater Manchester police said: "We are aware of the Darwen incident and we are being extra vigilant but we don't know whether we can link them or not.

"Darwen and Ramsbottom are near to each other."

Anyone with information can contact Bury CID on 0161 8725050.