Police are searching for a young girl, believed to be aged around six, who knocked on the front door of a property and said she was lost before running away.

The unidentified child was last seen alone in the Hele area of Torquay at about 11am on Wednesday.

She is described as a white female with long blonde hair tied up in pigtails, being of skinny build, and was wearing a black coat.

Police in the seaside town have issued a picture of the girl as they try to locate her.

Officers looked for the child throughout Wednesday and into the evening, with a helicopter and police dogs carrying out searches in Hele and the wider Torquay area but were unsuccessful.

There have been no reports of a child being missing, but police are keen to identify the girl to check on her welfare.

A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesperson said: “Following our media appeal, we received a number of calls from the public providing information which officers followed up last night. At this time, we have not been able to identify the young girl seen in the picture.

“Following the initial call to police yesterday morning, we have not received any further reports of sightings of the girl or any reports of missing children in the area.

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“We are still keen to identify the girl and check on her safety and welfare, our enquiries will continue today and I would encourage people to keep reporting any relevant information to us.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101.

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