Neighbours have expressed their concern after a woman tried to pull a two year old from the arms of his mum. On Wednesday, April 19, a mum was walking on Arnold Lane, Gedling village at around 5:55pm with one child in a pushchair and holding another when she was approached by a woman.
The lady was muttering under her breath and tagged at the toddler being held before the mum challenged the stranger, who then ran away in the direction of the mini roundabout near main street. The unknown woman is described as being in her fifties, white, a small skinny build, and was wearing a blue face mask and pink puffer coat at the time.
Nottinghamshire Police said they plan to increase patrols in the area over the weekend following the incident
Local residents have now spoken out about their shock. Retail worker, Simon Key, 31, of Gedling said: "It's a little bit worrying, especially if my partner is out on her own with the little one, and it's definitely concerning as there's a school around there (Arnold Lane) and a lot of young people."
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A 40 year old mum of two is also worried about what happened. She said: "I'm really concerned as I have two young children myself. It is surprising, I was shocked in fact.
"It was not long before that that I had left to go to the gym as at that time of day, you just wouldn't expect it." She went on to say that it would be "good" to have more police in the area "just so we feel a bit safer and things like that don't happen again."
Speaking about the incident, retired Stephen Rawstone, 86, said: "It is a bit concerning, we always keep a watch out here and I had a camera put up at the back of my house where I park my vehicle. It would be great if we had more of a police presence around the area."
A local resident who did not wish to be named described the incident as "just horrible." She said: "It's just shocking." The woman in her thirties also felt that seeing more police in the area would help families "feel safe and more secure" following the incident.
Retired Mary Hallam, 76, of Gedling, said: "It is worrying yeah, it's very worrying to say that there are so many odd people about now. Every now and then just to be able to see a police officer that is not in a police car speeding by that would be great.
"We used to have patrols but we don't have a police station any more and now it's just a satellite office in the fire station."
Nottinghamshire Police are still investigating the abduction attempt from earlier this week.
A spokesperson from Nottinghamshire Police stated: "The investigation is continuing and officers are analysing CCTV footage. There are plans to increase patrols in the area over the weekend following the incident."
It comes months after an unrelated incident was reported on the same road, where a black van pulled up next to an 11 year old girl walking to school and a man told her to get in the van. She ran to a local shop where the police were called.
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