Teens ill after mystery 'sweet' put into mouths

Police are awaiting the results of forensic tests into what were reported to be sweets

Police are investigating after two teenage girls became unwell when a masked stranger walked up to them and shoved what was described as a "sweet" into their mouths.

The 16-year-olds were approached by a man in Bushey, Hertfordshire, who forced the unknown substance into their mouths and struck one of them in the face.

Both teenagers were checked over in hospital after the incident in Park Avenue at 19:15 GMT on Thursday, which was Halloween.

Hertfordshire Police confirmed it was awaiting the results of forensic tests to determine what the unknown substance was.

'Unwell'

The man who approached the teenagers was described as white, about 6ft (1.83m) and of slim build. He was wearing a red and white mask, a black Nike tracksuit and black trainers.

Det Con Gemma Haines said: "I understand that this incident has caused concern among the local community.

"I’d like to reassure people that thorough inquiries are being carried out to establish exactly what happened and how the girls came to be unwell."

Officers said they had carried out house to house inquiries, reviewed CCTV and spoken to potential witnesses.

Anyone with information was asked to contact Det Con Haines on [e-mail]

People can also report details online at herts.police.uk/report, speak to an operator on an online web chat at herts.police.uk/contact or call the non-emergency number 101, quoting crime reference 41/91830/24.