Neighbourhood officers, concerned at seeing social media posts about a man following a woman in Paulton, have been looking into the report.

No such incident had been recorded on police systems, but officers made contact with the individual through the Facebook posts and have now taken details from her.

She reports that a man walked up close behind her in Paulton High Street at about 8.20pm on Monday 1 March. She felt uncomfortable so ran away and hid.

Neighbourhood Sergeant Samantha Kayser said: "Contrary to social media posts this is the only incident we are aware of.

"Paulton is a safe place, but we would always recommend that anyone out walking alone is alert to their surroundings.

"We'd advise anyone who feels uneasy because of the behaviour of a stranger to head for a busy public area, such as a shop, and to call us as soon as possible."

Anyone who has any information about this incident is asked to call 101 quoting reference 5221045574.