Man held over child abduction bid

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/hampshire/6580325.stm

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A man has been arrested after a passer-by tried to abduct a two-year-old child in a busy street.

The girl's 21-year-old mother was sitting at the top of Bitterne Precinct in Southampton, Hampshire, at lunchtime on Friday when a man approached.

Police said the man, with long grey hair and a white shirt, patted the toddler on the head.

He then grabbed her and tried to remove her from the pushchair before running away as other shoppers intervened.

Police were called and, a few minutes later, a suspicious man was reported in a nearby Sainsbury's supermarket.

Officers arrested a 53-year-old local man who remains in custody.

Detective Sergeant Will Whale said: "There were many people in the area at the time, and we need to hear from anyone who witnessed the event, but who has not yet spoken to police."