A man with "a very long nose and long grey beard" was spotted trying to lure two young girls into his car in Waitara on Saturday morning, police say.

Constable Bruce Lilley said a Waitara woman alerted police about a man in a red Holden Commodore who appeared to be luring two 5-year-old girls into his vehicle on Mould St at about 11am.

The woman said she recognised one of the girls and approached the man to ask what he was doing, Mr Lilley said.

The man said he was picking up his niece but sped off after the woman quizzed him on his address and the mother's name.

"He couldn't answer so she told him to bugger off and he did, he took off," Mr Lilley said.

Police wanted to speak to anyone else who had seen the man or vehicle he was driving.

The man is described as being in his late 50s, with olive skin, and wearing a blue beanie with a Ford symbol. He had a "very long nose and long grey beard", Mr Lilley said.

The first two numbers of the red Holden's licence plate were HJ.

The car had black louvres with a red spoiler.

"It would be good to speak to other people who have seen this vehicle."

The girls were not far from home but police were still trying to establish why they were on the street unsupervised, he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News