A councillor has said there is ‘alarm in the community’ following reports of strangers approaching two local young schoolgirls on the same day.
Police were called to reports of an unknown man and woman, who had travelled in a car and a van, ‘grabbing’ an 11-year-old as she walked to school in Irlam at around 8.30am on Tuesday (January 14).
Greater Manchester Police are continuing to hunt two suspects following the ‘attempted abduction’, in which the young girl was approached and ‘grabbed’ on Silver Street, close to the junction of Cutnook Lane. It is believed the pair quickly made off from the scene.
The 11-year-old was ‘grabbed’ in Irlam
Parents were then issued with a second urgent warning after reports that an unknown man had ‘lunged’ at a year seven pupil just three miles away in Urmston, also on Tuesday afternoon.
In a note sent to parents and carers, Flixton Girls School said a man had ‘walked towards’ the school pupil on nearby Bowfell Road, before ‘lunging’ towards her to ‘scare her’ and ‘staring’ at her.
Councillor Lewis Eric Nelson, who represents the Cadishead and Lower Irlam ward, has said there is ‘understandable alarm’ in the community and has issued a ‘stay vigilant’ warning, urging residents to check CCTV or doorbell footage to help aid police with their investigations.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, he said: “There is an understandable alarm in the community, and I’m extremely concerned that it seems our community is being targeted in this way.
“It cannot stand, and I urge the community to take reasonable precautions and have conversations with their children. Please do review any CCTV that may help the police with their investigations and report any information you may be aware of that could help the police in the usual way.
“Elected representatives will continue working closely with GMP to ensure our community is well serviced to protect us from those who seek to cause harm and arrest those responsible for the events of the last few days. Stay vigilant.”
For the incident in Irlam, Greater Manchester Police confirming no arrests have yet been made and that the incident is being treated as an attempted abduction.
Police said the male is described as white, approx. 5ft 9 in. tall, with short dark hair. He was clean-shaven and wearing blue jeans and a black hoodie. The woman is described as white, and wearing leggings and a black hoodie. The car is described as a black four-door vehicle, while the van was small, white, looking new, and with a sliding door.
The force has been contacted for a statement on the incident involving another schoolgirl in Urmston on Tuesday.
You can pass information via 101 or the Live Chat service at gmp.police.uk, quoting log 1205 of 14/01/25. Alternatively, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.