Police have this week appealed for anyone with information regarding an attempted abduction to come forward.
According to a statement issued by the Wiltshire Police, a man approached a nine-year-old girl in the Ashton Keynes area of the county, on Saturday.
The little girl is said to have been in Park Place when she was ‘grabbed’ by the man, early in the afternoon.
Thankfully, the child was able to escape the would-be abductor and run home, where she informed her parents. They contacted the local police, who promptly carried out a search of the local area.
The Wiltshire Police later confirmed that they have arrested a 24-year-old man on suspicion of attempted kidnapping.
With an investigation underway, however, the authorities are still calling on anyone who may have witnessed the incident to get in touch.
They are appealing for anyone who ‘heard or saw anything suspicious in the Park Place area of Ashton Keynes, around midday on Saturday, to contact police on 101’.
The frightening report comes just days after an Australian mother warned parents to be vigilant, and ensure their children knew the ins-and-outs of ‘stranger danger’.
The woman, known only as Leanne, took to social media to share the story of how a would-be abductor recently approached her five-year-old twin girls.
Leanne recalled how, on the way to the garden with her little girls, she remembered that her oven was switched on. She ran back to the house to switch it off, and was shocked to discover when she returned that a strange man claiming to be a ‘neighbour’ had approached her girls.
“As they got to the front of our yard, a man asked them what was wrong. They said they were just looking for their puppy,” she explained.
“They kept walking, and he told them he wasn’t a stranger and that he was their neighbour. He put his hand on my daughter’s shoulder and said he would help them find the puppy.”
Thankfully, at this point, an actual neighbour of the girls intervened. When she came outside and questioned the man – who had offered to walk the girls back to their house – she knew something was wrong.
The neighbour ushered the girls back into her own home, and the man left on foot.
The girls knew not to trust the man, and Leanne has credited a safety education programme for their awareness.
Be safe out there, mums.
