MOTORISTS have been warned to be on their guard after a possible roadside scam in West Dorset.

Dorset Police received a report of a suspicious incident on the A3066 at Crooked Oak Hill on Melplash, when a woman was approached by an unknown man.

The woman, who was driving from Beaminster to Bridport last weekend, reported to the police that she saw a white van in the lay-by just before Melplash, with one man lying on the floor next to the van, with two other men leaning over him.

She said as she approached the scene, another man jumped out in front of the car, causing her to come to a near standstill.

She then rolled down her window slightly, and the man, who spoke in an Eastern European accent, came round to the window and told her his friend was hurt, she reported.

The man asked the woman to stop so he could use her mobile phone but she refused and said she would call an ambulance when she got home.

As she drove away from the scene, the woman said she noticed the man that stopped her already had a mobile phone in his hand and the man who had been lying on the floor had got up, seemingly unhurt, and got into the back of the van.

Police have said that they are unsure whether there were criminal intentions from the men, or if it was just a misunderstanding.

But they are urging people to be aware of possible roadside scams, and are appealing for witnesses to the incident or anyone who has information to contact them.

Police Inspector Mike Darby said: “It’s hard to work out whether this was completely innocent or whether it is suspicious and there is criminal intent.

“We’ve never had anything like this before or since. We don’t know what they were trying to do.”

He added: “His phone might have had no reception or his battery might have run out or it was not a phone in his hand. It’s perfectly feasible that it was an innocent situation.”

PCSO David Ash, from Beaminster Safer Neighbourhood Team said: “We don’t want to cause a mass panic.

“It is just for everyone’s awareness really. There’s nothing to say they had any illegal intentions.”

Inspector Darby praised the woman involved in the incident for doing the right thing in the circumstances by not handing over her personal possessions or letting anyone in to the car and then contacting police.

He reminded the public never to let a stranger in to their vehicle or to hand over personal possessions and to contact 999 if there is an emergency.

Dorset Police are also appealing for the men involved in the incident to contact them with an explanation to also do so.

It’s not the first time that a woman has been stopped when driving alone in West Dorset.

In March this year, a woman was driving on the A3052 to Charmouth when a man was stood in the middle of the road, and concerned for his welfare she stopped and put down the window.

Without warning, the man reached into the car and grabbed her face before she drove off.