Child abduction attempts: Update

But a suspected abduction attempt involving a schoolboy and a man in Eckington yesterday may have been a misunderstanding, say officers.

A spokesman for Derbyshire Police said: “Investigations are continuing into the Denby incident and we would like to thank those who have got in touch with us so far. We are still appealing for information.”

Police say a girl was approached by a man near to John Flamsteed School, in Denby yesterday morning (Thursday, March 8). The incident happened at approximately 8.30am when the girl was followed by a man who stopped her by the One Stop Shop in Derby Road and began to ask her questions about herself.

An older pupil then came along and they walked off together away from the man.

The man is described as white, short in height, with ginger hair and a beard.

He was wearing dark-coloured trousers and a dark-coloured top. PC Matt Moore said, “I would like to offer a message of reassurance to the community that we are working hard to identify this man.

“We’ll have an officer presence outside of the school this afternoon and are working closely with the school to reinforce safety messages regarding stranger danger. “We take incidences of the nature very seriously and would urge members of the public to get in touch, should they notice anything suspicious.”

Anyone with information call PC Matt Moore on 101 quoting incident number 169 of 8 March and incident number 607 of 6 March, respectively. Alternatively, send him a message online by visiting the Contact Us section of our website www.derbyshire.police.uk/Contact-Us.

Officers investigating reports of a child being approached in Eckington are offer further reassurance to the public after speaking to the man and the boy involved.

The spokesman added; “We were called about an incident where a boy, who had been walking near to the One Stop store on West Street, was approached and his arm grabbed at around 3.30pm on Tuesday, March 6.

The man came forward having seen the appeal on Facebook, and we have spoken to the boy and other witnesses.

“It appears he misread what the youngsters had been doing, and thought they had been arguing so wanted to help.”