A traumatised mother has today told of a desperate tug-of-war to stop a female stranger screaming who tried to snatch her two-year-old child outside a toy shop in broad daylight as she said ‘he’s not your son’.
The terrifying incident has sent shockwaves through Reading, Berkshire, and led to a police warning to other parents as the hunt for the would-be kidnapper intensified.
The mother, who has not been named, described how the attempted child snatch happened on Tuesday, April 25, after she left The Entertainer toy shop on Broad Street in Reading town centre.
Traumatised mother had desperate tug-of-war with female stranger trying to snatch her two-year-old son in town centre
Posting on a community Facebook group, the mother said: ‘Out with my two year old son and two friends with their children when I was approached by a woman who threatened me and tried to take my child.
‘She screamed at me to stay away from my own child, threw down her bag and tried to grab him off of the floor.’
The young boy’s mother added: ‘I quickly pulled him away and asked her not to touch my child and to leave us alone which she replied, get off him he’s not your son.’
The mother said she won the desperate tug-of-war to stop the stranger taking away her boy, as other shoppers stared in amazement at the tussle.
She contacted the police who advised her to go to the nearest shop, Primark, and to wait inside.
A Thames Valley Police spokesperson said: ‘We are investigating an incident that happened on Broad Street at around 1.30pm on Tuesday (25/4).
‘A woman has approached a mother who was pushing her child in a pushchair.
‘The offender has then started shouting abuse at the mother, asking why her child was upset.
READ MORE: Little Hero Dillon Reeves! steers bus to safety after driver falls unconscious
‘The child has then become more upset due to the offender shouting, and the child has thrown themselves on the floor.
‘The offending woman has then moved towards the child with her hands out.
‘The mother has then picked up her child and moved away. She then called police.
‘An investigation is ongoing and anyone with information should call 101 quoting reference 43230179675.
‘This is currently being investigated as an incident of public order.’
