A man has been sectioned after he was caught approaching children outside Avenue Primary School in Belmont. The school contacted the police in January after a man unknown to staff was seen outside the school gates talking to the children.

"We called the police because we didn't know who he was. We then found out he was a friend of one of the pupil's family. He was a friend from the past and he was asking the children who they were. Luckily it didn't come to anything worse, " said headteacher Dorothy Middlemass.

A police spokesman said the man had now been sectioned.

"Police were called to the school where a man had been seen acting suspiciously in the immediate vicinity. Police responded by increasing their presence outside the school.

"On Tuesday January 15th, a 25-year-old man was arrested in connection with a domestic matter at an address in Sutton. Following his arrest, the man was detained under the Mental Health Act. Police believe that this is the same man that was seen near the school," he said.