Man attempts to snatch child from outside house in Co Tyrone

Police seeking suspect in his late 50s over suspected kidnapping bid

A man attempted to snatch a child from a home in Cookstown, Co Tyrone yesterday afternoon. Photograph: PA Wire
A man attempted to snatch a child from a home in Cookstown, Co Tyrone yesterday afternoon. Photograph: PA Wire

Police in Co Tyrone are hunting a man who attempted to snatch a child from outside a house in Cookstown yesterday afternoon.

The child was playing outside his home at about 5.45pm when a car drove into the property’s driveway.

A man, who was s in his late 50s and wearing a long red-sleeved jumper and dirty jeans, stepped out of the vehicle and grabbed the child’s arm.

At that moment the child’s mother emerged from the house and the man let go of the child, jumped in the car, and drove off.

A spokewoman for the PSNI described the man as over 1.73 m (5ft 8 in) tall. She said he was driving a dark blue car with five-spoke alloy wheels with the letter ‘S’ printed in red on the boot.

Detectives are calling for anyone who witnessed the incident or who may have information regarding the identity of the owner or driver of the car to contact the Cookstown non-emergency number on 101.

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Sorcha Pollak

Sorcha Pollak

Sorcha Pollak is an Irish Times reporter specialising in immigration issues and cohost of the In the News podcast