A MOTORIST is being hunted by police after he attempting to persuade an 11-year-old schoolgirl to get into his car.

It happened at around 8.10am on Thursday along Holmbush Way, Shoreham.

Police believe the vehicle involved was a dark green Volkswagen, possibly a 4x4 model.

It was being driven by a white man in his 40s, of muscular build, with dark hair and wearing a black baseball cap bearing a GAP logo.

He was also wearing sunglasses and a grey hooded jacket, and had a tattoo on his neck, possibly of a skull-and-crossbones. He wore chunky silver rings on his fingers and had a facial piercing just below his lip.

Officers have stepped up patrols in the area to provide reassurance to parents and their children, and to offer an opportunity for any witnesses to speak to officers face-to-face.

Sergeant Del Thurgood, of Sussex Police, said: "The man tried to entice the girl to get into his car while making verbal threats if she failed to do so.

"However, she refused, and when she took her mobile phone out to make a call he drove off in a northerly direction along Oakapple Road."

Witnesses to the incident or anyone who recognises the description of the man should contact Sussex Police via the online form at sussex.police.uk/contact-us/response-to-appeal/ or call 101, quoting serial 248 of February 2.