Van driver 'tries to abduct boy, 6, with sweets and drinks' in south London
26 April 2021, 15:37
A man who offered a six-year-old 'sweets and drinks in his van' has sparked an attempted abduction investigation in south London.
The boy was playing outside his house in Lambeth last Thursday when he was allegedly approached by a man who briefly spoke to him over the garden wall, before telling him he had sweets and drinks in his van.
The child ran back inside and alerted his mother at around 4.30pm, who rushed outside the house on Clarence Avenue to see the alleged man who had since vanished.
Metropolitan Police said the boy was left physically unharmed.
The suspect was described by the victim as a brown skinned male, approx. 5ft 6in tall, with short black hair, wearing a blue blazer, and black trousers.
Detective Sergeant Mark Pascall, investigating, said: “Incidents of this nature are very rare and in this instance the boy was not harmed at all.
"Nonetheless, I completely understand the concern it has caused both the boy’s family and the community, and can assure local people that we are taking this incident very seriously.
"We are doing everything we can to identify the man described and urge anyone who was in the area at the time and saw a man acting suspiciously to contact us.
"If you were driving and have dash cam footage that may have captured the man described, please get in touch."
