Claims that a man wearing a monkey mask tried to lure a boy into a car as he was waiting at a bus stop are no longer under investigation.
Sussex Police said that the report of an attempted abduction was made in good faith but the case was closed.
The force said: “Police investigating the reported attempted abduction of a 12-year-old boy in Brighton on Thursday (22 October) have closed their investigation after establishing that, while the report was made in good faith, there are no suspicious circumstances.”
Chief Inspector Roy Hodder said: “We always take reports of this nature very seriously and a number of officers were dedicated to investigating it.
“The boy has worked closely with us, enabling us to establish that there are no suspicious circumstances and the matter has been closed.”
It was reported that the man in the mask was being driven in a white car which stopped by the bus stop at the bottom of Elm Grove.
And that the driver asked the boy if he would like a lift home.
The passenger, a big man with a ponytail and a monkey mask, started to get out of the car.
But, the report said, two men passing by intervened and the car drove off.
A friend of the boy’s mother posted a warning on Facebook.
