Two children were “grabbed by strangers” near schools in two separate horror attempted abductions just six miles away from each other. Cops issued an urgent warning to parents to remain vigilant after an 11-year-old was first targeted on Tuesday morning.
The Mirror reports the first incident happened near Flixton Girls School in Urmston, Greater Manchester. On Thursday a child was then “grabbed by the throat” at another nearby school, Moorlands Junior School in Sale, Greater Manchester.
It is not known if police are treating the two incidents as linked at this stage. No one has been arrested in connection with the terrifying incidents.
However, officers say they did receive reports of “suspicious males” loitering around Flixton Girls School on Tuesday. In this instance, the girl was able to escape to safety and inform an adult.
Concerned parents and carers from Moorlands Junior School reportedly received a notice saying the child had been “grabbed” by a stranger as they were walking home on Thursday. The same alert was also sent out from nearby St Anne’s CoFE school to parents following the incident.
The Moorlands alert urged parents to pick children up and drop them off at the school gates. It read: “We have just been informed of a very nasty incident where a stranger has grabbed hold of one of our children by the throat, on Broad Road, as they were walking home. This was unprovoked.
“This has been reported to the police. Can I please suggest that all children are dropped off at and picked up from school tomorrow whilst Investigations are ongoing. The child concerned is safe but quite shook up. Thank you to the parents that intervened and got them home safely.”
According to Manchester Evening News, police have carried out CCTV enquiries in connection to the Urmston incident. Detective Superintendent Alicia Smith, of Greater Manchester Police, said: “Protecting children is our top priority and we investigate safety concerns swiftly and with vigour.
“We understand concerns are being raised in the community and over social media. We have chaired a partnership meeting this afternoon, and are closely aligned with the local authority and schools in the area. We would like to remind members of the public to avoid spreading information online that may not be true.
“We encourage anyone with concerns to contact the school directly if it relates to them or report it to police on 101 and we will investigate. There will be an increase in neighbourhood officers patrolling around schools during key times to provide visible reassurance.”
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