A 10-year-old boy was approached by a man in Wirral and asked if he wanted to get inside his van to meet football player, Lionel Messi.

At around 5:35pm on Sunday, June 13 it was reported that the man walked along Seabank Road, New Brighton, near to the post office and told the child that the footballer was inside his white van which was parked up on the road.

The man is described as white, aged between 20-30 years old, with a local accent and with black hair and a beard.

The boy refused and ran home after the incident.

The man did not make any physical contact with the boy, who was unharmed.

CCTV enquiries into the incident are ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to come forward to police.

Inspector Paul Harrison said: “We are taking this incident seriously and carrying out an investigation to find out who was involved. 

"The boy who was approached did the right thing in getting in touch with the police, and we would advise anyone faced with a similar situation to do exactly that.

“While no-one was physically harmed during the incident, the nature of the man’s behaviour has understandably left a young boy feeling apprehensive, and we would urge anyone with any information or dashcam footage from the Seabank Road area on Sunday to contact police or Crimestoppers with any information.

“Our Community officers will continue to visit schools and work with teachers to give appropriate stranger danger advice to pupils, and it is encouraging to see that the message is being taken on board.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Merseyside Police's social media desk via Twitter @MerPolCC or Facebook 'Merseyside Police CC.' You can also call 101, quoting incident reference 797 of 13/06 or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously via their online form at: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/give-information.