West Yorkshire Police have confirmed that their previous report of two men wearing masks attempting to grab an 11-year-old girl was in fact false.
The force say they will be investigating the incident to establish who had reported the false information.
In their previous statement earlier today (Thursday), it was believed that two men wearing masks terrified an 11-year-old girl as they shouted at her from a van window before getting out and grabbing her by the arm in Bramley.
The girl was said to have ran away before the men, who were supposedly wearing Scream and 'IT' clown masks, got back into the van and drove off.
West Yorkshire Police Detective Inspector Vicky Alexander originally said: “We are carrying out extensive enquiries into this incident and would like to hear from anyone who witnessed it or saw a van driving in the area at the time.
“It is unclear what the intentions were of those involved, but we recognise that people will be concerned and we are carrying out extensive enquiries to trace the van.
“Our colleagues in the neighbourhood policing teams will be patrolling the area to reassure the community."
However, police have now deleted this appeal from all social media pages and have confirmed that this information had been false.
An updated statement from the force has since been released, with the original statement being taken down.
They have confirmed that they will thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding the false claim.
The new statement on the incident read: "Following further enquiries into this incident, police have now confirmed this to be a false report.
"Reports of incidents of this nature are treated seriously and will be investigated thoroughly to establish the circumstances."
