POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a 14-year-old schoolgirl was robbed of her mobile phone.

The incident occurred at 2.10pm last Thursday when the girl was walking past Herriot's Hotel on Broughton Road, Skipton.

As she walked towards the town centre with a friend, she heard footsteps behind her. A man then reached forward and tried to grab her Samsung flip-top mobile phone.

At first, he did not manage to grab it, but eventually he snatched it and ran off towards the town centre.

When he was in the vicinity of Kingsley Cards further up Broughton Road, he got into a red Vauxhall Nova car, which then sped off.

The thief is described as being white, about 5ft 10 ins tall, of thin build with drawn facial features. He also has light brown cropped hair and was wearing a hooded jacket.

The victim had a swollen and bruised arm where she had been grabbed and she was left extremely shocked and shaken.

DC Angela Moorhouse, of Skipton CID, said: "The girl was quite violently assaulted and is still shaken up about the whole thing.

"We would like to hear from anyone who was in the area at the time and saw anything, however insignificant."

Anyone who witnessed the incident including motorists driving along Broughton Road are asked to contact DC Angela Moorhouse at Skipton police on 01756 793377, or ring Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.