A man wearing a monkey mask tried to lure a boy into a car as he was waiting at a bus stop yesterday afternoon.
Police said the man was being driven in a white car which stopped by the bus stop at the bottom of Elm Grove at 3.10pm.
The driver of the car, a white man in his 40s or 50s with a Scottish accent, asked the 12-year-old boy if he would like a lift home. The other, a white man of large build with a ponytail and the monkey mask, started to get out of the car.
However, two men passing by intervened, and the car drove off. Nobody was harmed.
A friend of the boy’s mother posted a warning on FAcebook last night. She said: “A warning to parents! My friend’s son was approached today by a man in a white car claiming to know his dad saying that he would take him home.
“As the man in the drivers seat was talking to him a man in the back wearing a monkey mask and a ponytail tried to get out of the back of the car and get him but two members of the public stopped it from happening.”
Detective Superintendent Mike Ashcroft said: “We are pursuing several lines of enquiry as we work to establish the full circumstances.
“We are appealing directly to the two individuals who stepped in to help to come forward and speak to the officers investigating the circumstances of this incident. We are also appealing to any other witnesses in the area who may have seen what happened.
“Be assured that incidents such as these are extremely rare and we would urge anyone in this situation to walk away or call for help and dial 999 immediately.”
Anyone with information is asked to report online or call 101, quoting 894 of 22/10.
