A 61-year-old man appears to have been assaulted after being accused of making inappropriate comments towards an 11-year-old boy.

Police are investigating the incident in Somerset Road, Sandys, near Warren Simmons Community Field, shortly before 7pm on Thursday.

A police spokesman said: “Officers conducted inquiries and spoke with the mother of an 11-year-old boy, who accused an older man in the area of following her son, while making inappropriate comments, as the boy walked from Champs Variety near the junction of Somerset Road and Cambridge Road.

“The individual involved, said to be a 61-year-old Southampton man, was located and spoken to by police.

“There was no evidence at that time to substantiate the claims made against him, however, efforts continue to identify what happened, and any offences disclosed will be investigated thoroughly.”

The spokesman added that police were aware of an account of the incident, along with a video that seems to show the aftermath of an assault on the man on Scott’s Hill Road in Sandys.

The social-media account of the incident claims the man asked the child for a sip of his drink as he left an area business.

When the boy said no, the man followed him and offered him a candy in exchange for a sip of the drink.

The spokesman said: “The Bermuda Police Service wishes to reassure residents that any acts of inappropriate interaction reported to police involving adults and children, or adults and other adults, will be addressed sensitively and in confidence.

“Likewise, members of the public are reminded that any acts of vigilante justice, in relation to any incident, that come to the attention of the police, will be appropriately investigated.”

• Witnesses to any inappropriate behaviour should call the Vulnerable Persons Unit on 247-1678 or e-mail group-vpu@bps.bm. And witnesses to the reported assault should call the Criminal Investigation Department on 247-1744