Man arrested on suspicion of attempted abduction after allegedly grabbing a child in busy Mansfield shop

Officers were called to the Wilko store in Clumber Street, Mansfield, shortly before 10.40am on Sunday, November 14, after it was reported that a man had grabbed a girl’s hand and pulled her towards him, before he let go and walked off out of the shop.

Police officers soon arrived on scene and searched the area, as well as checking CCTV footage to try and trace the suspect’s whereabouts.

They gave support to the young child – who was fortunately physically unharmed from her ordeal – and her family, while further enquiries were carried out, and a 28-year-old man was eventually arrested on Sunday afternoon on suspicion of the attempted abduction of a child.

Detective Sergeant Vincent Clark, from Nottinghamshire Police, said: “We treat reports of this nature extremely seriously and we investigated a number of lines of enquiry which led to the arrest of a suspect in connection with this incident on Sunday afternoon.

"Our enquiries are ongoing into this incident, but we ask anyone with information which may help our enquiries, or anyone who was in the area at the time and may have witnessed what happened, to come forward.”

The man in question has not yet been named and the investigation is currently ongoing.

Nottinghamshire Police have issued the following appeal for help from any members of the public who may have been in Mansfield town centre and the Clumber Street area at the time of the incident, to come forward to help with their enquiries into the attempted abduction.

Their statement continued: “Anyone who may have information which could help officers with their investigation is urged to call Nottinghamshire Police on 101, quoting incident 281 of 14 November 2021.

“Alternatively information, no matter how small, can also be reported to Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555 111 or by visiting their website at crimestoppers-uk.org.”

A wilko spokesperson said: “We are aware of a worrying incident that allegedly took place in our Clumber Street store this weekend.

"Our team immediately took action to involve the police and we are assisting fully with the investigation.”