A 50-year-old man has been arrested after a 16-year-old girl reported being sexually assaulted in Ferndown. Police said the incident was reported to have happened at about 4.20pm on Thursday, 17 September 2026, when the teenager was sitting on a bench by the bus stop near Iceland in Victoria Road. Dorset Police said a man got off the number 13 Morebus, approached the girl, began talking to her and made inappropriate sexual comments before grabbing her around the neck. Following enquiries, officers arrested a 50-year-old man from Bournemouth on suspicion of sexual assault. He has been released on police bail while further investigative work is carried out.