A GIRL of 10 was allegedly grabbed around her waist and dragged by a man before she managed to escape.
The youngster was on her way to school when she was said to have been grabbed in the street in Great Barr, North-West Birmingham.
The girl was “grabbed around the waist from behind by a man who attempted to drag her,” West Midlands Police said.
Fortunately, the girl was able to lash out and kick the man and her screams lead him to run off, according to the force.
Arena Academy issued an alert to parents earlier this week saying one of its pupils had been grabbed by a “man, dressed all in black, wearing a balaclava”.
Now, following the attack September 27, cops have released more details.
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A spokesperson for the police said: “We’re investigating after a girl was grabbed by a man as she made her way to school on Tuesday morning (27 September). It happened on the grassy area in Sandy Lane, near Booths Lane, in Great Barr at 8.15am.
“The girl was grabbed around the waist from behind by a man who attempted to drag her. She kicked out and screamed and the attacker ran off.
“He’s described as around 20-years-old, tall and thin. He was wearing all black clothing as well as a black cap, leather gloves, big back boots and a mesh type mask. He was carrying a black rucksack.”
It continued: “The girl, aged 10, is understandably shaken, but is safe and we are supporting her. She’s bravely given us a statement to assist our investigation.
“We’re trawling local CCTV and enquiries are ongoing, we’d ask anyone who was in the area and may have seen a man matching this description to contact us.
“Fortunately, incidents like this are extremely rare, but we’ve increased patrols in the area and our schools link officer has attended the nearby school to offer reassurance and advice.
“Any witnesses or anyone who saw a man acting suspiciously nearby is asked to get in touch with us via Live Chat on our website or by calling 101. Please quote crime reference 20/803719/22.”
Arena Academy’s deputy head Claire Kilroy said in the alert to parents of pupils at the school: “We were made aware of an incident yesterday morning involving one of our students.
“On the way to school a student was approached and grabbed by a man wearing a balaclava on Sandy Lane in Great Barr. The man was dressed all in black and the incident happened at 8.15am.
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“The police are involved and we are in touch with them, if you have any further information regarding this incident or would like to talk to someone, please email me or report your concerns directly to the police on 101.”
Handsworth Police said in a previous Twitter message: “Please can we reassure all of our community that our Perry Barr Police, Lozells Police and Handsworth Police teams are investigating. These horrible incidents concern us all and we are on patrol in the local area, looking for CCTV and working with local schools. Please call with any info at all.”
