SCHOOLCHILDREN in Stroud were chased by a man who may have had a knife earlier today.

Stroud High School has written to parents, informing them of what happened, but assuring them the incident did not happen to any of its students.

The letter reads: "We were informed this morning of an incident that took place in GL6 (Stroud) earlier today which involved a man, possibly bearing a knife, chasing some Year 7 students.

"The students believe they had previously seen the man in a white van taking photos of them.

"The incident has been reported to the police and all schools in the area have received notifications so we can remind students about the need to take precautions over their safety.

"We have asked all tutors to talk to their groups about their safety and steps they can take to ensure they are not vulnerable whilst out and about.

"This incident was not reported by a member of Stroud High School, but due to the proximity of the event, I wanted to share the information with you so you could take appropriate steps to talk to your children as well.

"Please do get in touch with us if you have any concerns relating to safety and if you know anything about the specific events please contact police."

More to follow.