THE search for a mysterious man who approached a young schoolgirl has been called off after police realised he was an off-duty officer.

The embarrassing gaffe came to light hours after police began appealing for witnesses.

The nine-year-old was on a family walk along an unnamed road in Hermitage on Saturday, March 11.

She was around 100m behind her family when a man in a small blue hatchback pulled over and offered her a lift at around 3.45pm.

He told her he was a police officer but left when her father spotted him.

An appeal went out the next day with Thames Valley Police calling on witnesses to come forward.

Now the investigation has been called off just 17 hours after being launched.

A police spokesman said: "Following an appeal that was issued yesterday regarding an incident in Hermitage on Saturday afternoon, the driver involved has now been confirmed as an off-duty police officer.

"The officer was concerned to see a young child who appeared to be walking alone and offered to drive her back to her family.

"The girl's family have now been updated. We are no longer appealing for information and the incident has been safely resolved."