TWO men have been arrested after a 13-year-old girl ‘was almost snatched off the streets during an attempted abduction’.
Police rushed to Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire at 6.20pm on Friday after a man tried to pull the teen into a Ford Transit van.
And officers revealed tonight that a 21-year-old man from St Albans and a 20-year-old man from Welwyn Garden City have been arrested on suspicion of attempted abduction.
The pair are in custody.
Officials said: “A 13-year-old girl was out running when she passed a white Ford Transit van.
“A man exited the van and grabbed the victim’s arm.
“She managed to push him away before running home to safety, where her parents called the police straight away.”
Detective Inspector Jason Finnegan, who is investigating the shocking incident, said: “I know that news of this incident is understandably going to come as a shock to the community.
“The victim was not injured but has been left shaken by her ordeal.
“However, I want to reassure her, her parents and the wider public that we always take reports such as these extremely seriously, and thanks to the diligence of several police officers, we currently have two people in custody.
“A vehicle has also been seized as part of the inquiry and we are conducting extensive enquiries to determine the exact circumstances of the incident, with detectives looking at CCTV footage and speaking to residents in the vicinity of where it happened.
“I would now like to make a public appeal for witnesses to this incident – did you see what happened?
“Have you seen any suspicious activity in the area?
“We are particularly keen to hear from anyone who may have noticed any unfamiliar vehicles parked in or near Eddington Crescent in the past 24 hours.
“Do you have CCTV cameras fitted to your property, or a dash cam fitted to your vehicle?
“If you live near to where the incident happened, please review your footage as soon as possible and make contact with us if you believe you have captured anything of significance.”
