Parents warned not to let children walk to school alone

Advice given after attempted abduction and assault on two pupils last week

PARENTS are being warned not to let their children walk to or from school alone, after an attempted abduction and an assault took place on pupils last week.

On the first occasion, an eight-year-old girl was riding her bike along Owen Road, off Love Lane, when a car pulled up beside her.

A woman in her 40s or 50s then grabbed the girl by the arm and told her to get in the car.

Fortunately the victim – a pupil at the nearby Shaw-cum-Donnington Primary School – managed to break free and fled the scene on her bicycle.

Three days later, an 11-year-old girl – a pupil at Trinity School – was approached from behind and assaulted by a man as she wallked down Love Lane.

The man, in his 40s, is described as “scruffy” with tattoos on his left arm and tanned, with facial stubble. He was wearing ripped jeans at the time.

Although the incidents occured in close proximity to each other, police say they are not linking the two. They are, however, putting extra patrols in place in the area.

Both schools are offering support to the victims and their families and have written to parents informing them of what has happened.

In an email circulated to parents, Trinity head teacher Charlotte Wilson said they had been liaising with police and told parents to advise their children “if they are walking to and from school and are out in the evening and weekends not to be alone, to be with others and to be vigilant.”