Three arrested over 'suspicious activity' near West Midlands schools

Police investigating reports of a van acting suspiciously near schools in Great Barr have arrested three men.

A teacher at Perry Beaches School raised concerns after parents reported a van cruising the area.

Officers detained the men, aged between 22 and 41, after stopping a white Ford transit van, which was collecting scrap metal, as it travelled along Sterndale Road, Great Barr at 8:50am this morning (Thursday 23 January).

Police say they were also called by a concerned member of the public who said they had seen a van approach a schoolgirl at a bus stop at the junction of Hamstead Road and Newton Road.

It happened twenty minutes before the arrests took place, the girl managed to run away unharmed.