A mother has been left distraught after she stopped a man attempting to abduct her three-year-old daughter – just FEET away from her.
Amanda Playle, 40, was walking with her daughter Courtney when two men approached the youngster who labelled the luring predator as ‘Mr Take Me Away’.
Amanda says she was just a few feet behind Courtney when one of the men knelt down and attempted to persuade her to go with him, saying: “Do you want to come with me?”
She quickly grabbed her daughter and went home as quick as they could – but she now fears it could happen to another child and has warned parents to be vigilant.
Amanda, of Hull, East Yorks., said: “I tend to cut across a tarmac area, and it’s normally OK – my daughter had walked in front of me. I was only a few feet away from her.
“There were these two men, and one of them knelt down to her and I heard him say, ‘Do you want to come with me?’
“I just grabbed her and we ran off, and they walked away. I was in a right state, crying and everything – I then rang the nursery to inform them.”
Ms Playle says her daughter now refers to the man as ‘Mr Take Me Away’ and had to be consoled by nursery staff – who then called the police.
The encounter happened near Adderbury Grove, in Hull, East Yorks., on Friday afternoon on the return journey from Fenchurch Street Children’s centre.
Speaking about the incident, Amanda said: “Someone from the nursery sat with me and rang the police and an officer came within the hour and I gave a description of the guy.
“I was scared to think what he said to her – she’s only three.”
“I’d say they [the men] were both around 30. He [the man who made the comment] had black shorts, a grey tracksuit top, and a grey woolly hat and white trainers.
“Courtney doesn’t speak that much and has speech therapy, but she did say ‘Mr Take me away’. She called the man ‘Mr Take me away’.”
Ms Playle also posted a warning to other parents on Facebook asked them to look out for the men.
She added: “I was worried to leave the house afterwards, but I have family nearby.”
