A 12-year-old boy said he was approached by a man near Cranford Lane about 3pm. 

The man allegedly urged the boy repeatedly to follow him, but the boy ran home and alerted his parents.

Police conducted a search of the area, but could not find the man. He was described as being aged in his 30s, with a medium build, wearing a grey and white shirt, and walking with a limp.

It marks at least the eighth child approach in the Illawarra area since April 28, with incidents at Coledale, Gwynneville, Tarrawanna, Bulli, Thirroul and Unanderra, as well as another at Barrack Heights only last Friday.

Wollongong police crime manager, Detective Inspector Ben Hopper, said detectives were actively investigating all recent incidents, but that police did not believe the Figtree approach was linked to any of the others, which all involved men in vehicles.

‘‘This man was on foot, walking around. We haven’t been able to link him to a vehicle, and inquiries are ongoing in that respect, but we are not aware of links between this one and the others,’’ Det Insp Hopper said. 

‘‘This was a very short conversation [between the man and boy], there was nothing violent.’’

He urged anyone with information on any of the previous approaches, or other similar incidents, to contact police as soon as possible.

‘‘These matters are treated very seriously. We encourage people to come forward and tell us about these things. Our detectives are actively investigating. We need anyone who sees these incidents to phone it in.’’

Anyone with information can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or  police on 4226 7899.