Parents on edge, police appeal amid spate of child kidnap attempts

Parents are on edge and police are appealing for public assistance amid a spate of approaches on children by men in white vans around Melbourne.

Multiple school-aged children have been targeted, with four attempts in the space of three weeks.

A primary school-aged boy was walking to school on Landscape Drive in Boronia about 8:30am on Tuesday when a man driving a white van pulled over and tried to coax the boy inside.

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The van pulled over near Boronia Heights Primary School, but the boy walked away and school staff reported the matter to police.

"It makes you feel uneasy, but I think the education kids have got nowadays, they're reasonably well versed in what to do and how to deal with these situations," one parent told 9News.

The attempt on the boy came after less than 24 hours after a 15-year-old girl was approached by a man driving a white van on Saxon Street in Doncaster.

The girl was approached by the man about 9.40am on December 2, who asked her to get in the van, but she ran away to a nearby shopping centre.

The attempted abductions add to multiple other child-snatching attempts across Melbourne in recent weeks.

Less than one week ago a 14-year-old girl was walking along Spring Street in Tullamarine when a man in a white van approached her about 5.45pm.

Leading Senior Constable Grace Botterill said the man, in a "determined" tone, asked the girl where she lived and urged her to get into his car.

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She refused and quickly walked to a nearby park where a group of people were standing.

That man is believed to be Middle Eastern in appearance, about 50-years-old, with a thick accent, grey hair, and driving a white van.

On November 18 an 11-year-old boy was approached by a man in a white van while he was walking home from school on Halley Street in Blackburn.

Police said the boy was walking home from school along Halley Street in Blackburn about 3.45pm on November 18 when the van pulled onto the wrong side of the road and told the boy his mum had asked him to give him a lift home.

The boy refused and the van drove away.

At this stage it's not believed any of the incidents are linked.

Police are urging anyone in the area at the time of any of the incidents with dashcam or CCTV to contact Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.